Baghdad blocks military aid to Peshmerga: Advisor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government does not allow the global coalition against the Islamic State to provide the Kurdish Peshmerga forces with drones and other weapons to defend themselves from attacks, a military advisor at the Kurdistan Region Presidency said. 

"We have said several times that we do not want things [weapons] used to attack or threaten others. We want to have defense things [systems]. We have not received anything yet despite the fact that oil fields and their [coalition] base at the airport in Erbil are frequently attacked by rockets,” Babakir Zebari told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Tuesday, describing the coalition aid to Peshmerga as “limited.” 

"They have not provided Peshmerga with any weapons that would make them happy. They say Iraq prevents it and that this is not possible without the permission of Iraq," added the advisor. 

Erbil has come under dozens of drone and rockets attacks blamed on pro-Iran militia groups. 

"They [coalition] wanted to bring in some drones but they [Iraq] made many obstacles and prevented it," Zebari, a former chief of staff of the Iraqi army, charged, adding that Baghdad does not share with Peshmerga weapons it purchases. 

When ISIS seized swathes of the Iraqi and Syria territories in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance defeat ISIS territorially in 2017. 

The US has provided the Kurdish Peshmerga with several rounds of military aid over the years.

Following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, most governmental and military positions in Iraq were distributed to Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups based on their estimated population.  

"I was the army’s chief of staff for 11 years. The Kurds made up 20 percent of the army at the time, Sunnis were 25, Shiite 45 and other entities 10. This was the case as long as I was in the position. I do not think the Kurdish percentage is even 2 now,” Zebari said. 

He added that this distribution was based on an agreement between the US and Iraq.

Zebari also said Kurds no longer hold most of the top military positions they used to hold. 

The Iraqi government said in 2015 that Zebari had been “retired” on prime minister’s order but the Kurdish military expert later said he retired from the position because he could not exercise his power.