US withdrawal without defenses ‘cause for concern’: Peshmerga ministry

“The United States leaving the Kurdistan Region behind in such a complex regional situation, without providing any defense system, is a cause for concern,” the Peshmerga ministry said in a statement.

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US-led coalition ends financial support to Peshmerga as MoU expires: Source

On September 10, the Peshmerga ministry announced the completion of the unification of the Peshmerga forces after years of effort. In the statement, the ministry called on international allies to “continue supporting the unified Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan” in the coming phase.

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KRG meets to discuss next steps following Peshmerga unification

The Council of Ministers addressed the KRG's "efforts to equalize the salaries, ranks, allowances, and financial entitlements of the Peshmerga with their counterparts in federal Iraqi defense institutions, and to include the Peshmerga ministry’s financial requirements within the expenditures of the federal budget,” the KRG said in a statement. 

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Iraq’s Zaidi congratulates Kurdistan on Peshmerga unification

The unification of Peshmerga forces comes as Baghdad, under Zaidi’s leadership, is seeking a similar process to end the presence of non-state armed actors by restricting their weapons to the state and bringing them under the umbrella of the Iraqi state security apparatus.

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PM Barzani hails Peshmerga unification, calls for stronger capabilities

Prime Minister Barzani hailed the completion of the process to unify the Region’s Peshmerga forces, saying, “We have succeeded today, and all forces have been put under the umbrella of the Peshmerga ministry.”

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Peshmerga should be brought under Iraqi Commander-in-Chief: Khazali

The 2005 Iraqi constitution allows federal regions in the country, such as the Kurdistan Region, to establish and organize internal security forces “such as police, security forces, and guards of the region,” and the Peshmerga fall under the last category.

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‘Historic achievement’: Peshmerga forces unified under single command

“This is a historic achievement, and the Kurdistan Region will now have a unified and modern army, under the direct command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.”

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US-Peshmerga agreement set to expire amid Coalition withdrawal 

“The US Government's financial support to the Kurdistan Regional Government for the unification of the Peshmerga forces was always intended to be temporary.  It was intended to help the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs integrate and unify the different units, and if the US Government is now ending the payment of stipends to those forces, that is almost certainly because it judges the unification effort to be complete,” Ambassador Joey Hood, the former US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told The New Region.

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No ‘final decision’ on US suspension of Peshmerga aid: Minister

“Until now a final decision has not been reached,” Ahmed said expressing hope that US assistance, both in terms of military and administration, continues.

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