ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Peshmerga has said it will need a new agreement with the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) after the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) expires in September, as efforts to unify the force enter what officials describe as their final phase.
Bakhtiyar Mohammed, secretary-general of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Peshmerga, warned on Thursday that the expiration of the current MoU with the US will require renewed arrangements with international partners.
“The expiration of the memorandum means the end of obligations for both parties. Therefore, work must be done on a new agreement. There must be a new memorandum, whether bilateral or through the federal government," Mohammed said.
He added that the agreement needs to be reached with "other countries within the global coalition against ISIS, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.”
Under an MoU with the US, partisan structures within the Peshmerga ministry must be abolished and Kurdish forces brought under total ministry control by September, the senior Peshmerga official told Rudaw last week.
The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have long maintained separate military formations - Unit 80 and Unit 70, respectively. Around 100,000 troops have served under the two forces, receiving salaries and administrative orders through separate party chains of command rather than a unified structure under the ministry, despite occasional tensions between the rival leaderships.
According to the Kurdistan Region's Reform Law No. 2 of 2020, units 70 and 80 should operate under Regional Command 1 and Regional Command 2.
Mohammed noted that the restructuring process has made major progress but is not yet complete.
“We have made significant progress. We can say that only the final item remains to fully implement the memorandum, which is the stage of establishing the regional commands and joint coordination with the Ministry of Peshmerga,” he added.
The unification effort, supported by the coalition forces, aims to bring the Kurdistan Region’s divided forces under a single command structure within the ministry. However, key components remain incomplete, particularly the activation of joint sectors.
Mohammed also stressed the political and institutional importance of completing unification, calling it both a national duty and a military necessity.
“The political leadership of the Kurdistan Region and the Ministry of Peshmerga understand that the Regional Commands must be established and operationalized urgently. This has become a necessity because we all know the Peshmerga is a symbol; it has been a struggling and self-sacrificing force. Therefore, building, reorganizing, and empowering this force is a moral, national, and patriotic duty,” he said.
He confirmed that existing reorganized brigades are continuing their duties without disruption.
