Peshmerga says 60 fighters killed in confrontations with Iraqi troops
Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
In a press conference aired on the Kurdish NRTTV on Sunday, Jabbar al-Yawar, secretary general of Peshmerga Ministry said that the recent confrontations left 60 fighters of Peshmerga killed and 150 others wounded.
Peshmerga, according to Yawar, seeks resolving conflicts between Baghdad and Erbil “through dialogue and constitution.”
“We have to return back to talks to resolve all issues,” Yawar said. “The current issues are political not military ones.”
Meanwhile, Yawar expressed fears that military confrontations with Baghdad, in case of not reaching a political understanding. He added that Kurdistan made a proposal of seven issues for Baghdad to resolve those issues and are currently awaiting the response.
Yawar also called for jointly running the disputed regions with Iraqi troops. However, he said that Iraqi troops insist that they run those regions themselves.
“Peshmerga has been working alongside Iraqi army for three years to defend both Iraq and Kurdistan,” he said.
On Saturday, Yawar said a new meeting will be held between two military delegations from Baghdad and Erbil.
This came after Hadi al-Ameri, secretary-general of Badr Organization, ruled out on Friday possibilities that Iraqi federal troops attack the kurdish Peshmerga at the disputed regions in Nineveh and Kirkuk.
A meeting was held on Thursday between two delegations without reaching an outcome, a source told Alghad Press. The kurdish delegation was angry during the meeting, according to the source, without giving further details.
Iraqi troops have been on high alerts in west of Mosul, after Erbil was declared to have stepped back from an agreement between with Baghdad.