Peshmerga 70 and 80 Units will be fully unified next year: Official
The process is part of a reform project supported by the US-led coalition to unify all the Peshmerga forces under the ministry’s umbrella, he said.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The partisan 70 and 80 Units of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces will be fully unified under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga next year, a top military official announced.
Colonel Farman Farhad of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs made the revelation during an interview with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) media department aired on Tuesday.
The process is part of a reform project supported by the US-led coalition to unify all the Peshmerga forces under the ministry’s umbrella, he said.
Twenty brigades have so far been unified with the help of the coalition forces, Farhad said.
The unification of the Unit 70, presently commanded by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and 80 forces, presently commanded by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), will follow suit by next year, he added.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and several top officials have reiterated that ending party influence over the Peshmerga is on top of the KRG ninth cabinet’s agenda.
Having officially concluded its combat mission against ISIS in Iraq in December, the US-led coalition has continued to provide assistance and training for Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
Sixty percent of the Peshmerga forces have participated in training programs provided by the international forces, according to the official.
Farhad also said that the Peshmerga are “fully prepared” to defend the Kurdistan Region.
Over 1,700 Peshmerga fighters were killed during the war against ISIS and approximately 10,000 injured.