Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani renewed his calls on Saturday for the unification of Kurdish security forces (Peshmerga), highlighting their key role in Iraq’s defense system.
He stressed the need to distance the Peshmerga from political and party disputes.
At the graduation ceremony for the fourth class of officer candidates at Qalachulan Military College in Sulaymaniyah, Barzani said: “The Peshmerga forces are an important part of Iraq's defense, and it is Iraq’s responsibility to support them.”
Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that 769 officers graduated from the college after seven months of training, including about 50 women. Most of the graduates hold bachelor’s degrees and are from different provinces across Iraq.
The Peshmerga Ministry forces, according to the sources, consist of about 170,000 fighters. Of these, 70,000 have been unified, while the rest remain in separate units linked to the two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), almost equally.
Barzani reiterated his strong belief that the Peshmerga and other armed forces should be “a national and professional institution, independent from political and party conflicts.”
He also pointed out the key role the Peshmerga played in defeating ISIS, which had taken control of about a third of Iraq’s territory in 2014. Iraqi forces managed to defeat ISIS by the end of 2017.
Under Iraq’s 2005 Constitution, the Peshmerga is part of the national defense system, but it is specific to the Kurdistan Region, with light and medium weapons.
The Kurdistan Region, particularly its two main parties, has faced criticism from international allies for not unifying its security forces under a single, non-partisan structure.
US military advisers, along with other members of the international coalition, have been helping the Peshmerga forces develop and prepare for future threats, particularly terrorism.
There are also ongoing efforts to unify the forces under a single command.
In September, the US transferred 105mm howitzers to the Peshmerga, in coordination with the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
The move raised concerns among some Arab factions in Baghdad, though the Iraqi Ministry of Defense confirmed the weapons are medium-range and non-offensive.
Barzani stressed the importance of unifying the Peshmerga into a professional force, free from political and party conflicts.
