UN Secretary General praises Peshmerga in letter to President Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The United Nations Secretary-General thanked Peshmerga, President Barzani, and the people of the Kurdistan Region for combatting the Islamic State (IS).

In a letter to the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, Antonio Guterres, the newly-appointed Secretary-General of the UN,  acknowledged the Kurds' resistance and sacrifices in the face of IS atrocities.

Guterres’ letter was in response to President Barzani’s congratulatory note on the former's appointment as the UN Secretary General, according to a statement by the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP).

Many countries are engaged in a fierce and historic confrontation against the challenges, tangible terror as well as an extremist mindset that seeks to divide countries, Guterres was quoted in the KRP statement.

Moreover, Guterres said that alongside with the UN, he would like to work with President Barzani to promote peace in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and the whole world.

Guterres emphasized that spreading peace in the Middle East is a historic duty.

The KRP statement added that Guterres praised President Barzani’s leadership as well as the bravery of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against Da’esh terrorists, using the pejorative Arabic acronym for IS extremist group. 

On January 1, 2017, Antonio Guterres, former Portuguese Prime Minister, took office as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Peshmerga has been one of the most effective ground forces defeating the so-called Islamic State in northern Iraq, liberating large swaths of land from the extremist group since 2014.

Editing by Ava Homa