Former Peshmerga Minister: Threatening won’t force Peshmerga withdrawal
Peshmerga will not pull its forces from liberated territories deprived of the Kurdistan Region, said a senior Peshmerga commander on Monday.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Peshmerga will not pull its forces from liberated territories deprived of the Kurdistan Region, said a senior Peshmerga commander on Monday.
Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, a Peshmerga Commander and former Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Peshmerga, told Kurdistan24 that the Kurdish forces would not pull out from the newly liberated areas.
“Those areas are part of the Kurdistan Region, but they were deprived,” Mustafa said.
“Peshmerga won’t withdraw from those areas and will continue defending them as part of Kurdistan,” he added.
On Aug. 14, Peshmerga successfully cleared 11 villages from the Islamic State (IS) in the east of Mosul.
The operation took less than two days and was supported by international coalition air strikes.
Mustafa said that statements made by the federal government of Iraq officials offend Peshmerga.
“Threatening and deterring won’t help Peshmerga withdraw from those areas,” he added.
According to Mustafa, the Baghdad government had almost provided nothing to Peshmerga despite it being a constitutional force in the country.
“Besides ignoring Peshmerga forces in the fight against IS, the federal government has prevented the US-led coalition from delivering military support,” the Commander stated.
“They have created many problems for Peshmerga,” Mustafa added.
Recently, some Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, expressed their concern about Peshmerga’s advance in the north of the country.
Abadi had asked Peshmerga to remain in their positions and not to proceed any further.
Mohammed Saihoud, an Iraqi Member of Parliament, previously stated that “if Peshmerga forces do not retreat from the liberated areas, they would be considered occupiers, not liberators.”
Saihoud noted that IS and Peshmerga forces would be considered equal in the sight of Iraqi forces and Hashd al-Shaabi if they insist on occupying the liberated areas.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany