Kurdish parties make progress on Peshmerga unification: Pentagon

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The two ruling parties of the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Democratic party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have taken steps towards security reform and unification of the Peshmerga forces, according to a Pentagon report published on Friday.

Personnel from the PUK’s 70 Unit and the KDP’s 80 Unit have been transferred to the command of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga Ministry, stated the most recent the report of the lead inspector general of the global coalition’s Command Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) that covers the final quarter of 2023.

“Most personnel transferred from these politically-affiliated forces to the MoPA [Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs] have been organized into units known as Regional Guard Brigades (RGB),” read the report.

“However, State assessed political will is required for approval of a consolidated, KRG endorsed plan for implementation,” it added.

International partners, particularly the United States, have long warned Kurdish authorities that they risk seeing support and funds for the Peshmerga withdrawn if they fail to depoliticize the security forces, bringing party-affiliated forces under the umbrella of the ministry. The US is leading advisory efforts to reform the Peshmerga into a modern army, but Washington had recently expressed concern about a lack of progress.

The PUK’s Unit 70 and the KDP’s Unit 80 make up the majority of the Peshmerga forces, numbering over 100,000 troops.

The Pentagon report said that the return of Peshmerga Minister Shoresh Ismail should “significantly aid” the reform process, since little progress was made during his absence.

Ismail resumed his duties in November after being absent from the post for over a year, citing the region’s political and military instability as the reason for his return. He called on the ruling political parties in the Kurdistan Region to enhance cooperation in order to continue the reform process.

He had resigned in late 2022, unhappy with political interference with his ministry, but his resignation was not accepted by the Council of Ministers.

The Pentagon report said the next step is to unify the accounting for the 70 and 80 units now under ministry control. “Without this step, the politically-aligned forces that are transferred to the MoPA will remain reliant on their respective political parties,” it said.