Canada might send arms cache originally designated for Kurds to Ukraine

The $10 million package of small arms and anti-tank systems had been promised to the Kurds.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/01/25 12:04

A Canadian Forces soldier uses the Carl Gustav anti-tank weapon during training at the 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Garrison in Wainwright, Alberta, in May 2021 (Photo: Canadian Armed Forces)

Kurdistan Canada Ukraine Russia Peshmerga ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Canadian government might send arms that were previously promised to the Kurds several years ago to Ukraine, the Ottawa Citizen reported on Monday.

The $10 million package of small arms and anti-tank systems had been promised to the Kurds in 2016 at the height of the war against ISIS. However, the Canadian military put the equipment into storage following objections from the Iraqi government, the news website said.

The equipment, originally intended for Kurdish security forces, is enough to equip a force of between 500 to 600 personnel, the report added. It includes C6 general-purpose machine guns and C8 carbines.

Canada is still discussing whether to provide arms to Ukraine.

There are worries in the West that Russia might launch another operation in Ukraine after new Russian troop build-ups near that eastern European country’s border.

The Biden administration has repeatedly warned Moscow that if it attacks Ukraine, the US will impose, along with its European allies, punishing economic sanctions.

In 2018, Canada also said it would no longer provide training to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces as part of its role in the global campaign to defeat ISIS.

Within the framework of the US-led coalition, Canadian Special Forces previously provided military training to Peshmerga forces for almost three years.

The Peshmerga have been one of the most effective ground troops in containing and pushing ISIS back after the jihadist group swept through Iraq in 2014, threatening the country’s vulnerable minority communities.

Canada’s military training of the Peshmerga and Iraqi Army was suspended in October 2017 after clashes erupted between the two local forces in the disputed territories shortly after the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.