Paramilitary official: Iraqi troops unlikely to attack Peshmerga at disputed regions
Peshmerga forces. File photo.
Speaking to reporters in Nineveh on Friday, Hadi al-Ameri, secretary-general of Badr Organization said, “Iraqi security services have no intentions to attack the Kurdish brothers.”
“We don’t seek fighting the Kurds. They are our people. Brothers in Erbil should be aware of this and order withdrawal of Peshmerga to the administrative borders of Nineveh,” he added.
“We hope that security prevails at these regions [disputes areas in Nineveh] in an easy way like what happened in Kirkuk,” Ameria said.
Badr Organization is a major component of the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shia-led alliance of paramilitary troops fighting Islamic State militants alongside the Iraqi government.
PMF sources say Ameri, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhanids, deputy chief of the PMF, lead a huge attack last week in disputed regions in west of Duhuq, however, Peshmerga managed to repulse the attack.
On Thursday, two Iraqi and Kurdish military delegations have convened in Mosul for talks over Iraqi troops deployment at disputed regions between Erbil and Baghdad. News circulated, earlier on the day, said 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.
This came after Kurdistan Regional Government had proposed joint Iraqi-Kurdish deployment at Khabur strategic border crossing between the region and Turkey, with participation of observers from the U.S.-led Coalition.
Since Kurdistan held its independence referendum on September 25, Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil.
Iraqi government forces approached the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, after taking over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in October, fulfilling instructions made by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake those regions.