French military assistance to arrive in Kurdistan soon

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Peshmerga official announced on Monday that French military assistance for Kurdish forces is expected to arrive in the Kurdistan Region.

Jabar Yawar, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga, told Kurdistan24, “New French arms supply will arrive in Erbil on Tuesday.”

Yawar did not mention the type of assistance that will be delivered but said that “it is a decent amount of military assistance for the Peshmerga forces.”

“[The delivery] includes weapons and ammunition, plus ammunition for the 20m French machine gun,” he added.

In April, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Defense Minister, visited Erbil to reiterate his country’s support for the Peshmerga forces in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extremists.

In a statement to journalists, Le Drian said, “I came here to thank the French military trainers and advisers as well as meet with the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to reiterate the support of France to Peshmerga forces in the fight against [IS].”

Le Drian pointed out that France has clear evidence regarding the use of chlorine gas by IS militants against Peshmerga. He also praised the continued bravery of the Kurdish forces.

“The Peshmerga plays an important role in this fight,” he stated.

The Kurdistan Region Deputy Peshmerga Minister Anwar Haji Osman told Kurdistan24 that the French Defense Minister’s visit to the Region “comes at the right time.”

“France, aside from its involvement in the international coalition aid, provides military support to Peshmerga forces in the fight against [IS],” he said.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany