ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A powerful Peshmerga unit affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced on Monday that it has completed all required procedures to integrate into the relevant ministry amid ongoing efforts to unify all Peshmerga forces.
"All administrative procedures have been completed, and the dossier has been submitted to the ministry of Peshmerga. After signing, it [Unit 80] will be integrated. The decision of the Command of Region One has also been issued," Gen. Najat Ali, commander of the KDP-affiliated Unit 80, told Rudaw.
The US-led global coalition has been assisting the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for years to unify all Peshmerga forces, especially those affiliated with the ruling KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The PUK-affiliated Unit 70 is not fully ready to join the ministry yet.
The procedures to integrate Unit 70 "have yet to be completed, but they are in the final stages," Ahmed Latif, spokesperson for the unit, told Rudaw on Monday, adding that no timeframe has been set for the completion of the process.
Latif blamed bureaucracy and a vast number of Peshmerga personnel for the delay in the completion of the integration process.
The progress in the Unit 80 integration represents a major step toward consolidating all Peshmerga units under the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. The effort includes transforming the two powerful units into a single chain of command. These two units together comprise the majority of the Peshmerga forces, totaling over 100,000 troops.
The KRG has pursued the unification of its military forces for years, aiming to establish a professional, depoliticized national force free from partisan control.
In September, the United States reiterated its commitment to the efforts to reform the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, reaffirming its support for a secure and prosperous Kurdistan Region. Washington has provided financial and military support to Peshmerga in the last decade.
Despite steady international support, the unification process has faced numerous setbacks. Between 2010 and 2013, approximately 42,000 Peshmerga from Unit 70 and Unit 80 were merged, and 14 brigades were formed. However, progress was stalled by internal political tensions and the outbreak of war against the Islamic State in 2014.
A renewed push came in 2018 with the announcement of a 35-point reform plan for unification, developed in collaboration with international partners.
In July, Babakir Zebari, former chief of staff of Iraq’s Army and advisor to the Kurdistan Region’s presidency, told Rudaw that the Peshmerga unification had entered its final phase and would be completed by the end of the year.