ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Construction for the first military hospital for Peshmerga completed on Thursday in Erbil with Ministry of Peshmerga officials, commanders, and German coalition members in attendance.
The facility named ‘The Peshmerga Hospital’ was built with assistance from the German government. It will strictly be used to treat wounded members of the Kurdistan Regional Government's armed forces.
"The nation and government of Germany assisted the Peshmerga during hardship by arming and training Peshmerga," said Sarbast Lazgin, the Peshmerga deputy minister, at the unveiling.
Construction took 14 months. The $4.8 million facility has 20 beds on a 1,000 square-meter plot of land. Finishing work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
"We are trying to gradually enhance the hospital's capacity. It is a 20 bed hospital. It has two surgery halls,” said Dr. Rebin Zikhani, deputy manager of health affairs at the ministry.
The hospital has emergency and intensive care sections.
"The German government's medical support to the Peshmerga ministry has not just been through building this hospital, but drug storage, health training, supplying ambulances, treatment as well supplying health logistics and their last project is this hospital," Zikhani explained.
He added that at the moment the hospital's workers are undergoing training. Patients, registered through the ministry, will begin receiving treatment in April.
Up to now, 772 injured Peshmerga from the ISIS conflict have received treatment abroad.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been instrumental in Berlin’s support for Peshmerga during and after the ISIS conflict. She visited the site on her fifth visit to the Kurdistan Region last year.
“We all know that the Peshmerga on our behalf and that of the world, fought very well against ISIS,” said Von der Leyen at the time.
On Germany’s training of the Peshmerga, she said “We spent an intense three and half years together,” adding that the Kurdish force has “developed well” as they have “the willing and desire to learn.”
Up to 150 German soldiers are based at the international anti-ISIS Combined Joint Operations Command Center in Erbil, where they have worked with Iraqi and Kurdish commanders, in addition to Peshmerga units through the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTTC).
More than 10,000 Peshmerga were wounded during the four-year war with ISIS and more than 1,800 paid the ultimate sacrifice.
