Peshmerga Ministry to create brigade for Kirkuk Arabs, Turkmen

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Peshmerga Ministry intends to create a military division for Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk Province to fight the Islamic State (IS), but the financial crisis has halted the project, said a Kurdish official on Friday.

Oil-rich Kirkuk is one of the most diverse provinces in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq consisting of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians.

However, some areas in the region remain in the hands of IS insurgents.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces have taken the responsibility of protecting Kirkuk from IS following the emergence of the jihadists in June 2014.

Sunni Arabs have been disappointed by the federal government of Iraq’s lack of response in arming them to fight against IS and liberate their territories.

Instead, Sunnis seek to be part of the Peshmerga forces and contribute in combating the insurgents.

“We hope that the Peshmerga Ministry will respond to our request to fight among Peshmerga and participate in liberating our areas from [IS],” Ismael Hadidi, the head of Hadidi Sunni clan, told Kurdistan24 on Friday.

Recently, the head of Sunni tribes in Kirkuk met the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani in Erbil and asked him to allow Sunni Arabs to fight alongside Peshmerga.

Moreover, Turkmen in Kirkuk have divided into two fronts. One side supports being part of Peshmerga while the other is loyal to Iraqi security forces belonging to Baghdad.

Riyaz Sari Kahya, the head of the Turkmen party of Ili, told Kurdistan24 that they are not against Peshmerga, but he claims that Kirkuk belongs to Baghdad.

As a result, he believes the federal government should arm them rather than the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

A Kurdish member of the Iraqi Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, Shakhawan Abdullah, discussed the plan with Kurdistan24.

Abdullah revealed that creating the brigade for Kirkuk Turkmen and Arabs had been enacted, but the financial crisis in the Region became an obstacle.

Additionally, a Peshmerga Commander in Kirkuk Fatah Gawradeyi stated that Kurdish forces welcome this project.

He added that Arabs and Turkmen could defend their areas, and their participation among Peshmerga would give more legitimacy to the Kurdish forces.

“They have to be under the direct command of the Peshmerga Ministry, not tribal leaders or religious clerics,” Gawradeyi explained.

Peshmerga is labeled one of the most efficient ground forces in defeating IS. They protect over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of the Kurdistan Region’s border against jihadists in the north of Iraq.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Soran Kamaran contributed to this report from Kirkuk)