ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A Peshmerga accused of killing one of his colleagues following a quarrel while on duty in Sulaimani has handed himself over to authorities and is currently in custody, a security official told The New Region on Sunday.

A quarrel broke out between two Peshmergas from the Unit 70 forces while the men were on duty in the village of Zewe in Dukan’s Piramagrun subdistrict on Saturday evening. The dispute soon escalated into an armed conflict, leading to the death of one of the men: A 44-year-old Peshmerga.

Ahmed Latif, the unit’s spokesperson, told The New Region that “the killer has surrendered to the Unit 70 forces several hours after the incident, and he is now in custody and the investigation with him continues.”

The suspect initially fled the scene before turning himself in hours later, according to initial reports. Both the victim and the suspect held the rank of warrant officer and were from the Qaladze area.

The Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Region’s second largest party after the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Efforts are ongoing to unify the KDP-led Unit 80 and Unit 70 forces, but the process has yet to be finalized. In 2022, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the US-led global coalition reached an agreement for the unification of Peshmerga forces, setting a September 2026 deadline to complete the process.

The two forces make up the majority of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, numbering over 150,000 personnel.