ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga ministry has called on the United States to increase American funding for its forces, according to an official statement.
Peshmerga minister Shorsh Ismail met on Tuesday with USAID official Colonel Voorhees and an accompanying delegation to discuss the issue of financial entitlements for Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, “calling for the continuation and expansion of financial aid.”
Ismail also called on the US to pay "the salaries and entitlements of all Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces in a fair and just way" as part of the country's financial aid to the Kurdistan Region, the statement quoted him as saying.
Colonel Voorhees pledged to "expedite this request,” according to the statement.
The US has provided military and financial aid, as well as training, to Peshmerga forces since 2014. It previously paid the KRG $20 million each month to pay the salaries of Peshmerga fighters.
In January, a top Peshmerga official said US financial aid to the Peshmerga will be handed directly to the ministry instead of being added to general Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) funds.
The Peshmerga ministry has 14 brigades under its command that are supposed to be apolitical and serve the ministry. The US government has often provided assistance in forms of weaponry and stipends to the Peshmerga ministry, some of which has gone to politically-affiliated units.
According to well-informed sources, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been told that US aid is not for politically-affiliated forces such as 70 and 80 Brigades, controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) respectively.
The United States Department of Defense officially gave $12.5 million worth of military aid to Peshmerga forces at Erbil International Airport last month. Vehicles were to be directly given to brigades under ministerial command, and not political parties, the coalition confirmed, saying the aid will be used in the fight against ISIS remnants.
Peshmerga forces have consistently fought the terror group since it took swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and are a key ally for the coalition. At least 1,700 Peshmerga fighters were killed and around 10,000 injured in the fight against ISIS from 2014 onwards.
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