Kurdistan

Peshmerga will not withdraw from liberated areas, says ministry

23/7/2016

“We announce to every faction that the Peshmerga’s weapons are not for rent,” said a Peshmerga Ministry statement.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Peshmerga forces will not withdraw from areas they have recaptured from the Islamic State, the Peshmerga Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Saturday.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced earlier that the KRG and the United States, in the memorandum signed between them earlier this month, agreed that Kurdish forces would withdraw from recaptured areas in order to bring stability to those regions.

Responding to that claim, the Peshmerga ministry said, “The withdrawal is just for Mosul.”

The Kurdish Peshmerga, says the announcement, have been fighting to protect the land and people of different ethnicities and religions without being financially supported by any faction.

“The war against terrorism has always been our unwavering guiding principle and it is part of the Kurdistan Region’s independence policy,” the statement revealed.

The statement added that Peshmerga participation in the Mosul offensive is not something new and it is not dependent on any memorandum or financial support.

“It has been more than a year since the Peshmerga are ready for that war, but the Iraqi forces were not prepared,” said the statement adding that Kurdistan Region’s President, Masoud Barzani, has several times said that the Kurdish Peshmerga are ready for the Mosul operation.

The Kurdistan Region allowed Iraqi forces to locate in Makhmour, south of Erbil, as part of preparations for the Mosul assault, the ministry claimed, and threatened to stop all its ties and cooperation with Iraqi forces if there is any disrespect for Peshmerga sacrifices.

“We announce to every faction that the Peshmerga’s weapons are not for rent,” the statement said bluntly. “The Peshmerga’s weapons will fire only upon the decision of the people and for the peoples’ benefit.”

“If some people in Baghdad think that Peshmerga weapons are for rent and we are dependent on their permission, they are wrong,” the ministry said.

The Peshmerga ministry added that the US pledged to assist the Kurdish forces in several different sectors including: financial, military, aerial support, and providing food, fuel, and medicine.

“We thank the US for their participation in the war against Daesh (ISIS) and their support for the Peshmerga,” the statement says.

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5 Muraz Adzhoev | 23/7/2016

Baghdad is not a side of the bilateral US-Kurdistan MoU between Pentagon and Kurdistan Defense Ministry, and Iraqi Defense Ministry has no right to comment and describe the content of the subject, terms and conditions indicated in the document. Suppose the President-Commander of Kurdistan autonomous region should officially and publicly inform Baghdad "Green zone" authorities that Kurdistan region is de-facto integrated and independent from failed Iraqi federation, and that all formalities will be solved and finished soon by legal and justified general referendum of the people of Southern Kurdistan on its democratic constitution of sovereign, secular statehood. Military cooperation between Iraq and Kurdistan will and must be conducted currently only in coordination with and within the US-led coalition headquarter.

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3 FAUthman | 24/7/2016

This is really good news! very encouraging and I am very pleased to read it. Make it clear from the start of the Mosul campaign where the Kurds stand on this issue. Very likely the US would agree with the KRG position! and finally the border could be defined through US mediated talks between Arbil and Baghdad.

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2 Adnan | 24/7/2016

If there were no peshmargas, Iraq was the second Syria.. we all in the west and east are proud of the Peshmargas.. Kurds has an old saying ( let the Iraqi defense Minister if there are any defense, Ba Har seer bexwa wa zoorna Leda)

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2 Deler | 24/7/2016

The defense Minister knows very well that kurds plus Peshmargas never fight for the salaries, the salaries never been an issue. Where was the defense minister when kurds fought against iraqi regime for more than 30 years. Kurds fight to protect Land and humanity not for money.

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1 Teach them a lesson | 24/7/2016

The "Iraqi" defence minister is deliberately trying to provoke the Kurdish leadership into saying or do something stupid. These kind of statements are a good response but please don't stop there. Make it a logistic hell for his army in Makhmor, drag everything out like they do with us in Baghdad. Start a campaign on how incompetant corrupt and rotten the army still is, coalition forces take areas and villiags for them and they can't even hold them. The corrupt defence minster himself has many properties and businesses in Erbil, all of which he bought with money he has stolen through corruption, make it hell for his busnisses so his forced to either sell them or close them. Also tell his family who also reside in Erbil to pack up and leave. Stop showing hospitality and generosity to ungrateful garbage like that.

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