Peshmerga needs $300 million a month emergency fund: Official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The foreign policy adviser to the Kurdistan Region's President Masoud Barzani, Hemin Hawrami, has said that the Kurdish Peshmerga will need an emergency short-term fund from the United States of $300 million a month to continually combat the Islamic State (ISIS).

That, Hawrami explained, is what is needed "for their salaries, and the logistics and transportations for these efforts against ISIS."

Hawrami pointed out that at present the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) has been unable to provide the Peshmerga with basic necessities such as food and winter clothing. Furthermore their salaries have not been paid since last September.

"The amount we can generation in the Kurdistan Region is $500 million. That's it for everything," he added.

"We want Kurdistani Peshmergas to outgun ISIS. Up to this moment, if you take away the airstrikes, still ISIS is outgunning the Peshmergas. Why shouldn't Peshmergas have enough quantities of the anti-tank missiles?" he asked rhetorically.

"ISIS has not been able to take back one meter of the areas that Peshmerga forces have cleared," he added.

Hawrami made these remarks on Monday at the Washington Institute think tank.