ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In a landmark push to unify Kurdish Peshmerga forces and build a national army, Unit 80 and Unit 70 forces, controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), respectively, will be unified in March and incorporated into the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, under the name ‘Davar Command’, a Peshmerga ministry official confirmed on Thursday

 

“The Peshmerga forces’ reform program is proceeding very well. In March, the Unit 80 and Unit 70 forces, under the name of Davar Command will be incorporated into the Peshmerga ministry,” Abdulkhaliq Bapiri, deputy minister of Peshmerga announced in a press conference on Thursday. 

 

Unit 80 forces are controlled by the KDP, and Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the PUK. The two forces make up the majority of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, numbering over 150,000 troops.

 

One of the key objectives of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) ninth cabinet was to unify Peshmerga forces, with a number of brigades controlled by the two parties already incorporated into the ministry. 

 

In addition to the KDP and PUK themselves, the US, the UK, France, and Germany have also been involved in unifying and reforming Kurdish Peshmerga forces over the past few years. 

 

According to an understanding previously reached between the Peshmerga ministry and the US-led global coalition, Kurdish forces will have to be unified until 2026. 

 

Bapiri said it is highly likely they will announce the “unification of the entire Peshmerga forces” before 2026.

 

During the graduation ceremony of 792 Peshmerga officers in Zakho’s Military College in mid-October, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said the unification of the entire Peshmerga forces is inevitable and a key goal of the leadership of the Kurdish Region. 

 

"My communication to our allies is that, despite the gradual pace of this process, we possess a strong commitment to transforming the Peshmerga forces into a unified national force of Kurdistan,” Barzani said.

 

The Kurdish president also said that a "cohesive leadership will be instituted to oversee the Peshmerga.

 

"We are determined to address all challenges and issues incrementally until this process is successfully concluded, with the assistance of divine grace."

 

Peshmerga forces that significantly contributed to shattering the myth of ISIS, have been receiving military support from multiple countries that are members of the US-led global coalition against ISIS.