June 25, 2007
Hewler-Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), June
25, -- A Kurdish delegation, leading figures in the
Iraqi government and the US and British ambassadors
have reached an accord in Baghdad on the transfer of
the Peshmerga militia forces to a command of
regional guards" Jabbar al-Yawar, a command
spokesman for commando said on Monday.
The deal lays out "the setting up of contacts
between these forces and those of the Iraqi army,
the effective number of Peshmerga militiamen and the
budget designated by central government to the
force." The accord signed by the president of the
autonomous region of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani,
will be officially inked on a separate occasion by
prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
In a press conference late on Sunday, Yawar added
that "the training of these new guards will be
carried out by the multinational forces along the
same lines as the training they give to the Iraqi
armed forces. He pointed out that "these new forces
will not depend on the Iraqi security forces but
will have a specific role in the protection of
Kurdistan and their commander will be the regional
president."
The announcement of this fusion closes a long
chapter of conflict between the Kurdish regional
authorities and the central government regarding the
budget of the Peshmerga forces. The Peshmerga, which
allied itself with the US-led coalition in the 2003
war, serves as the main security force for the
Kurdistan regional government.
Kurdish sources also say that the "regional
administration has reached a definite accord with
the Iraqi government on the oil and gas bill,"
stressing that "the draft law is ready to be
discussed in the Baghdad parliament."
According to the sources, this rapid development
depends on the "pressure applied by the Americans
and Britains," who in recent days have been pushing
for the law to be presented to parliament before the
summer recess. |
Kurdish Female Soldiers at Military training camps
Peshmerga
Kurdish Peshmerga |
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