KRI unifies Peshmerga Units 70, 80
Shafaq News- Erbil
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) completed on Thursday the unification of Peshmerga Units 70 and 80 under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs through a planned military restructuring process.
In a statement, the ministry described the move as a “historic achievement,” saying the forces had been reorganized under a single command-and-control structure after years of efforts to overcome administrative and organizational divisions.
Under the restructuring, Peshmerga formations have been reorganized at the brigade, division and military-region levels, while the commands of two military regions will formally begin operations, according to the statement.
The ministry said the changes place the unified forces directly under its authority and are intended to establish a modern, professional Peshmerga force operating through a single institutional command.
It credited support from KRI President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, as well as assistance from the US-led Global Coalition under an existing memorandum of understanding.
The ministry called on Coalition partners to continue supporting the unified Peshmerga during the next phase of reforms.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has spent years working to integrate forces historically associated with the KRI’s two main political parties: Unit 80, linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Unit 70, linked to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The reform program seeks to bring those formations under the direct administrative and military authority of the Peshmerga Ministry. In June, the ministry launched a Coalition-supervised training program as a practical step toward integrating the forces, which had also been redesignated as Region One and Region Two.
The United States, United Kingdom and Germany have supported the wider Peshmerga reform program, which includes changes to command structures, training, administration and force organization.
