ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdish Peshmerga forces’ Unit 80, affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), have been integrated into the Peshmerga ministry as part of a broader internationally-supported push to unify the Kurdish forces, a ministry source told The New Region on Monday. 

The KDP’s Unit 80 and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Unit 80 make up the majority of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, numbering over 150,000 troops. 

“The command of Unit 80 has been placed under Davar Command and is now within the framework of the Ministry of Peshmerga,” a ministry source told The New Region.

The PUK-affiliated Unit 70 forces are set to follow suit and complete their integration before the end of the year, the source added. 

In 2022, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the United States reached an agreement for the unification of Peshmerga forces, with the goal of completing the process before October 2026. 

Other international allies, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, have also been involved in unifying and reforming the Kurdish Peshmerga forces over the past few years. 

A key objective of the KRG’s ninth cabinet has been to unify Peshmerga forces, with a number of brigades controlled by the KDP and PUK already incorporated into the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.

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.

The unification comes as the two rivaling parties have yet to form the new cabinet of the Kurdistan Region - over a year after parliamentary elections - due to disagreements over posts.