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Iraqi Kurdistan calls on Baghdad to
recognize Kurdish Peshmerga forces
14.8.2012
By Karim Abd Zayer - Al Monitor |
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Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers look on at a guard post
during a deployment in the area near the northern
Iraqi border with Syria, which lies in an area
disputed by Baghdad and the Kurdish region of Ninawa
province, August 6, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Azad
Lashkari. •
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August 14, 2012
ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', —
Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) Imad Ahmed said that a governmental
project is currently underway to legalize the status
of the Peshmerga forces. This step came amid
increasing disagreement with the Baghdad-based
central government over the role of the Peshmerga
within the Iraqi security system.
In a statement issued by the KRG, Ahmed said, “We
are working hard to reorganize the Peshmerga forces
according to legal means. We attribute great
importance to training, weapons and supplies so that
we will be able to effectively defend the gains of
our people, and the security and stability of our
citizens in the future.”
According to the official, part of the project has
already been completed. In its next phase, the KRG
will work on organizing the Peshmerga forces on a
legal basis so they would be able to defend the
Kurdistan region and perform their national duties.
The statement also quoted Ahmed addressing Peshmerga
forces based near the city of Kirkuk, an area
disputed between the KRG and the Baghdad-based
government. “It has become your duty to defend and
preserve the security and property of citizens,
particularly in the disputed areas. You must defend
them against terrorists and the enemies of the
people,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed also said that the KRG considered itself
responsible for providing security and other
provisions for residents of disputed zones. The
Peshmerga forces will play a key role in defending
civilians against potential terrorist attacks on the
areas, he added.
Ahmed called upon the Baghdad-based government to
fundamentally reconsider Peshmerga issue once and
for all. He also urged the central government to
take into consideration the budget allocated to the
forces according to the constitution,www.ekurd.net
which stipulates that the Peshmerga forces are part
of the Iraqi defense system. He noted that the
Baghdad-based government has refused to fund the
budget of the forces. The KRG has taken up this task
instead, he added.
On another note, according to security and medical
sources, three policemen and two members of Iraq’s
Sunni Religious Endowment were killed in two
separate attacks in Baghdad and southern Baghdad on
August 12.
Three policemen were killed in a bomb explosion that
targeted their fuel in Jurf al-Sakher in southwest
Baghdad. Then, the chief of police in Jurf al-Sahker
and two other policemen were killed in another blast
soon after their arrival at the site to check on
victims.
Jurf al-Sakher is located inside the so-called
“Triangle of Death” in south Baghdad. Since the
invasion of Iraq in 2003, this area has witnessed
acts of violence and murder on daily basis.
In Baghdad, according to a source affiliated with
the Interior Ministry, two members of the Sunni
Endowment were killed in a gun attack on their car
while passing through the Jihad neighborhood of west
Baghdad. The assailants reportedly used silenced
weapons.
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