ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s central government is impeding foreign military assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in their fight with the Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdistan’s national security advisor complained.
Masrour Barzani said that Baghdad “impedes the foreign assistance to the Peshmerga forces,” adding that “this is a violation of the constitution.”
Barzani met with a delegation from Germany’s foreign and defense ministries on Wednesday to discuss the war against ISIS, which Erbil is fighting together with a US-led coalition of some 50 nations.
“In the constitution the Peshmerga are part of Iraq’s defense forces,” said Barzani. “But Baghdad not only does not meet its constitutional responsibilities, it rather prevents the delivery of assistance to the Peshmerga,” he said.
Germany and other Western countries -- among them Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States -- have provided military assistance and training to the Kurdish forces, but only with a nod from Baghdad.
But Kurdish leaders have complained that Baghdad has tried to curb foreign military aid to the Kurds, particularly when aircraft bringing supplies are routed through Baghdad airport.
With its own army in ruins after a rout by ISIS in June, Baghdad has relied on the Peshmerga to stop an ISIS advance in the north. But the central government fears that too much power in the hands of the Kurds could fuel their aspirations of independence from Iraq.
