Peshmerga Forces officially announce completion of unification

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Monday that the process of unifying and restructuring the Peshmerga Forces under a unified military structure affiliated with the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs has been completed, following years of efforts to unify and reorganize the formations in coordination with the United States and the international coalition forces.

The announcement was made during an official ceremony attended by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, along with officials and military commanders. The final stage of the unification process was completed on September 10, according to the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.

Under the new structure, military formations previously affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have been incorporated into the structure of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. The forces of Units 70 and 80 have been reorganized under the First and Second Region Commands, respectively, with the ministry serving as their sole authority, according to ministry Secretary-General Bakhtiyar Mohammed in press statements.

The restructuring process covers command and control, administration, finance, training and operations, while the new structure comprises more than 100,000 Peshmerga personnel.

Masrour Barzani said the completion of the unification process marks an important milestone in the reform of the Peshmerga Forces, noting that the process was carried out as part of the ninth cabinet’s ministerial program and a memorandum of understanding signed with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Efforts to unify the Peshmerga Forces date back years. The process was revived under a 35-point reform plan in 2018, while the current phase of the unification process began in 2022 after previous attempts stalled due to political disputes and the war against ISIS.

The Kurdistan Region prime minister stressed that political affiliation is a personal right, but service in the Peshmerga Forces must be based on national loyalty, the military chain of command and decisions issued by the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. He rejected the use of the forces in partisan disputes or internal conflicts.

Regarding relations with Baghdad, Barzani stressed that the Peshmerga are a constitutional force and part of Iraq’s defense system. He called for greater military and security coordination with the Iraqi Army and urged the federal government to guarantee the constitutional rights of the Peshmerga and ensure that their salaries and financial entitlements are equal to those of their counterparts in the Iraqi Army.

The unification process comes as the United States prepares to end the international coalition’s mission in Iraq at the end of this month. The U.S. Central Command has said that Washington will continue to cooperate with the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga Forces after the coalition's mission in Iraq ends.