Politics

Masrour Barzani requests international support

Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), requested more financial and military assistance from the international community in the war against the Islamic State (IS)

Ehsan Mamakani 2016/01/13 16:16

kurdistan Masrour Barzani Security Council Marco Carnelos Italy Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), requested more financial and military assistance from the international community in the war against the Islamic State (IS) in a meeting with Italian Ambassador to Iraq, Marco Carnelos, on Tuesday.

Barzani received an official Italian delegation on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the KRSC. Barzani expressed his concerns regarding the costs of the war against IS during the meeting and stated that the increasing military expenses against IS terrorism put the Kurdistan Region under constant financial pressure.

Barzani highlighted the major factors of the financial crisis in the Kurdish region: Hosting nearly two million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the continuous refusal of the Iraqi federal government to pay the full budget share (seventeen percent) of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and lastly, the significant reduction in oil prices globally make confronting IS along 1,050 kilometers (652 miles) of front lines a burdensome task.

The KRSC Chancellor accentuated the role of Peshmerga as the most efficient and effective force on the ground against IS extremism. He continued that the Peshmerga forces fight the jihadist group on behalf of the entire world, and the international community must support Peshmerga accordingly.

Barzani stated that providing arms and financial aid to Peshmerga forces is the international community's moral duty. He added that financial assistance from the international community will also enable the KRG to pay the salaries of the Peshmerga forces on time.

Ambassador Carnelos, in response, expressed his appreciation to the KRG and the Peshmerga as the most effective force on the battle against IS. He promised to draw the attention of the international U.S.-led coalition to the matter of financial aid for the Kurdistan Region. He added that the Region is an effective ally in the war against extremism in the region, stressing that it is the moral duty of the international community to support the Kurdistan Region in this war.

The Italian Ambassador concluded that Italy decided to increase the number of their military advisors in the Kurdistan Region in the coming weeks and months.