Peshmerga currying favour with Western and Arab governments

Kurdish leader Hassan Jihad said that more countries are beginning to support the Peshmerga after a string of victories by the paramilitary group against the Islamic State group (IS, formerly known as Isis).

"Among these countries are Germany, the United States, Britain, France, and Australia."

Reliable partner

More nations are beginning to see the Peshmerga as a more reliable and trustworthy ally than the Iraqi army, he said.

Jihad added that his force was even gaining the respect of Arab states who, for years, opposed Kurdish separatist groups. Saudi Arabia reportedly commended Jihad for the performance of his fighters, and a new era of Kurdish-Saudi military relations could begin, he said.

He said that more arms for the Peshmerga would be essential to the defeat of the Islamic State group.

"If the Peshmerga had as many weapons as the Iraqi army they would have made more progress in the battlefield," he said. "Countries that support the Peshmerga do not require the approval of the Iraqi government for their support."

Aiding the fighters

Shajuan Abdullah, a member of the parliamentary defence committee, attributed the rise in support for the Peshmerga ot the failings of the Iraqi government.

The government has to treat the Peshmerga as part of the Iraqi defence system, but it has not provided them with a single weapon. - Shajuan Abdullah

"The government has to treat the Peshmerga as part of the Iraqi defence system, but on the contrary it has not provided them with a single weapon yet," he said.

Abdullah said that the Iraqi government should build closer ties with the Peshmerga, particularly after the battles it has fought and won against the Islamic State group, "the enemy of Iraq".

He says that if Baghdad would have allowed countries to supply arms to the Kurdish group, then the Islamic State group would be on the retreat by now.

Abdullah praised the anti-IS international coalition that has provided air support for the Peshmerga during their fight against the group.

On the march

Last month, Peshmerga forces and some Iraqi tribes in Mosul were able to capture areas in Sinjar province that had fallen to IS militants. One of the Kurdish group's biggest achievements to date has been breaking the siege of Sinjar Mountain, were Yazidi civilians were trapped.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.