Peshmerga not Involved in Security Crackdown against Iraqi Protesters: KDP

Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces have no role in the security crackdown against the ongoing protests in Baghdad and several other southern provinces of Iraq, said Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Since early October, thousands of Iraqis have been protesting against corruption, lack of services, and high rate of unemployment. The protest turned violent in mid-October when the Iraqi security forces allegedly used live ammunition to put down the unrest.

The KDP, which is the largest Kurdish political party in Kurdistan and Iraq, said in a statement on Monday that the Peshmerga forces were not involved in the recent developments in Iraq.

It also denounced the reports claiming that the Kurdish forces were part of the security crackdown against protesters. “Throughout the history, the Peshmerga forces have always been a shield to protect all the peoples of Iraq,” reads the statement.

It warned that there are suspicious attempts to derail the developments in Iraq so to serve a suspicious goal, and accusing the Peshmerga forces of having a role in the violent response to the protests is one of such failed attempts.