When the war erupted, however, many of these attempts were postponed. As such, various sectors would have KDP and PUK flags at frontline Peshmerga bases against ISIS. After the war, the controversies continued.
The KDP is the largest party among Kurds, and it primarily controls Erbil, the capital of the KRG. The PUK controls Sulaymaniyah, which is near the Iranian border. The KDP also controlled Duhok and border areas with Turkey, often working with Ankara.
The goal of uniting the Peshmerga became more complicated during the 2017 referendum. The KDP led efforts for an independence referendum. While the PUK ostensibly agreed, it apparently quietly spoke to the Iranians and Baghdad about opposition to the vote.
In October 2017, the Iraqi federal government, supported by Iranian-backed militias, attacked Kirkuk, which the Peshmerga controlled. The Kurds had defended the city from ISIS, but Baghdad wanted Kirkuk back in federal control.
Meetings between PUK figures such as its leader, Bafel Jalal Talabani, and the Iranian IRGC Quds Force Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani convinced the PUK that the federal government and Iranian-backed forces would roll over the Peshmerga.
PUK and KDP withdraw forces
THE PUK forces withdrew, and the front line collapsed, with KDP units also withdrawing. Some of the Peshmerga fighters from the PAK, made up of Kurds from Iran who live in the KRG, staved off the Iraqi offensive until the PUK and the KDP lines had stabilized north of Kirkuk. Anger and bitterness were widespread following Kirkuk’s collapse.
Now, eight years later, things have changed. The KDP’s Peshmerga say they have merged with the KRG’s overall Peshmerga, which are supposed to be run by the Peshmerga Ministry.
“All administrative procedures have been completed, and the dossier has been submitted to the Peshmerga Ministry. After signing, [the 80th Unit] will be integrated. The decision of the Command of Region One has also been issued,” Gen. Najat Ali, the commander of the KDP-affiliated 80th Unit, told Rudaw.
The report noted that “the US-led global coalition has been assisting the KRG for years to unify all Peshmerga forces, especially those affiliated with the ruling KDP and the PUK.”
What will happen with the PUK’s 70th Unit remains to be seen. “The procedures to integrate the unit have yet to be completed, but they are in the final stages,” Ahmed Latif, the unit’s spokesperson, told Rudaw on Monday.
“The progress in the 80th Unit integration process represents a major step toward consolidating all Peshmerga units under the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry,” Rudaw noted.
“Efforts include 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,” it continued.
The reforms are backed by the US, the UN, and many others.
Rudaw said that “between 2010 and 2013, approximately 42,000 Peshmerga from the 70th Unit and the 80th Unit 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.”
There are other challenges in the Kurdistan Region. Kurds went to the polls in the recent Iraqi election in large numbers. The KDP received more than one million votes. Kurdistan24, a local channel, noted, “With US coordination meetings scheduled and the 2026 unification deadline approaching, officials say the integration process is entering its decisive phase – though the absence of progress from the 70th Unit underscores the complexity of achieving full structural unity.”
The other issues include some internal challenges within the PUK. In August, the PUK arrested Lahur Sheikh Jangi Talabani, the nephew of the late Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. Bafel opposed Lahur, and the two had clashed politically. Lahur had once played a key role in the PUK’s counterterrorism security forces.
Another issue facing the KRG is the redeployment of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This group has left Turkey, saying on Monday it would withdraw from an area near the Turkish border.
It remains to be seen what will happen to PKK fighters in the mountains. The KRG would prefer that they disarm and that Ankara withdraw its forces from the KRG.