ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Some 1,000 fighters of the Ezidkhan Protection Force, a military group in the Shingal region, has officially been put under the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry as the move is criticized by many whose names were excluded from the deal.
Haider Shasho, commander of the force reassures all his men that they will be added to the list of his force within the Peshmerga Ministry in the near future.
Shasho said: “The number of our force is 4,780. For the time being, only 1,000 have been registered. And those registered were initially with us.”
He assured the majority of his force that they will also be registered “in the coming weeks. I will not let the effort any fighter has made be wasted.”
According to Shasho, his 1,000 strongman force has joined the Peshmerga Ministry on the condition that it would protect its "name and flag."
“We will maintain our logo and name. We will also be a neutral force even within the Peshmerga Ministry.”
Khdir Khalid, 34, one of the fighters whose name has been excluded told Rudaw, “Since the beginning of the fight against ISIS, I have been fighting alongside this force with my own rifle. But, since I was not a close associate with Haider Shasho, my name was not included.”
He accused the commander of nepotism.
When ISIS attacked Shingal in August 2014, Shasho, also member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fought the group near Sheikh Sharafadeen shrine on Mount Shingal, encouraging many to stand by him and fight.
Later on he formed the Ezidkhan force.
Shasho got into trouble with Kurdish authorities in Erbil for having ties with Baghdad, an issue that was solved after he was promised that his force will be incorporated into the Peshmerga forces.
He was also briefly arrested in 2016 on charges of receiving salaries from Baghdad.
The Peshmerga Ministry announced the incorporation of Shasho’s Yezidi force on Sunday.
Shasho has long rejected claims that he was part of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi, saying: “Until ISIS attacked Shingal, I was a member of the PUK’s Central Council. But, then I have defended as a Yezidi Kurd."
“People joined me not because I was a PUK member, but, they came to defend Shingal and Ezidkhan.”
The Ezidkhan commander said from Shingal to Khanaqin wherever they are commanded they will move their forces to “defend the soil of Kurdistan.”
Haider Shasho, commander of the force reassures all his men that they will be added to the list of his force within the Peshmerga Ministry in the near future.
Shasho said: “The number of our force is 4,780. For the time being, only 1,000 have been registered. And those registered were initially with us.”
He assured the majority of his force that they will also be registered “in the coming weeks. I will not let the effort any fighter has made be wasted.”
According to Shasho, his 1,000 strongman force has joined the Peshmerga Ministry on the condition that it would protect its "name and flag."
“We will maintain our logo and name. We will also be a neutral force even within the Peshmerga Ministry.”
Khdir Khalid, 34, one of the fighters whose name has been excluded told Rudaw, “Since the beginning of the fight against ISIS, I have been fighting alongside this force with my own rifle. But, since I was not a close associate with Haider Shasho, my name was not included.”
He accused the commander of nepotism.
When ISIS attacked Shingal in August 2014, Shasho, also member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fought the group near Sheikh Sharafadeen shrine on Mount Shingal, encouraging many to stand by him and fight.
Later on he formed the Ezidkhan force.
Shasho got into trouble with Kurdish authorities in Erbil for having ties with Baghdad, an issue that was solved after he was promised that his force will be incorporated into the Peshmerga forces.
He was also briefly arrested in 2016 on charges of receiving salaries from Baghdad.
The Peshmerga Ministry announced the incorporation of Shasho’s Yezidi force on Sunday.
Shasho has long rejected claims that he was part of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi, saying: “Until ISIS attacked Shingal, I was a member of the PUK’s Central Council. But, then I have defended as a Yezidi Kurd."
“People joined me not because I was a PUK member, but, they came to defend Shingal and Ezidkhan.”
The Ezidkhan commander said from Shingal to Khanaqin wherever they are commanded they will move their forces to “defend the soil of Kurdistan.”
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