ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Peshmerga Ministry announced on Sunday plans to establish two operations command centers comprising 11 military divisions as a part of ongoing efforts to reform and unify the Kurdistan Region’s forces.
The Peshmerga ministry said in a statement that Minister Shoresh Ismail, along with senior officials from the ministry and Colonel Rap Brandstetter, commander of the coalition forces in the Kurdistan Region, convened to discuss reforms within the Peshmerga forces.
According to the statement, the meeting focused on "deciding on a prepared project to establish two operations commands composed of 11 military divisions, which will operate under the leadership and control of the Peshmerga ministry."
The two command centers will start operations in early 2025, according to the statement.
When ISIS seized swathes of Iraqi land in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance to defeat ISIS territorially in 2017.
Despite efforts by Washington and several European countries, the Peshmerga remains a highly partisan force in organization and loyalty, split between the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the PUK and Unit 80 forces are controlled by the KDP. These two units make up the majority of the Peshmerga forces, amounting to over 100,000 troops.
The ministry also highlighted that the meeting addressed plans to establish military infrastructure for the Peshmerga Ministry.
“Everyone agreed that this infrastructure will support the Peshmerga Ministry in building a unified Kurdish national force that will protect the people and territory of Kurdistan against any current or future threats.” the announcement added.
Unification of the Peshmerga forces has been on the agenda of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for several years, and while some progress has been made and a number of brigades controlled by the PUK and the KDP have been added to the ministry, a lot of work remains to be done.
