Masrour Barzani: Peshmerga due rapid improvement of services while on front lines

The Chancellor of the Kurdistan Regional Security Council Masrour Barzani has said Kurdish Peshmerga forces deserve advanced weaponry and improved financial conditions as they are the only force on the ground engaged in fighting against the so-called Islamic State.

Mr Barzani made his comments during a meeting with the Italian Ambassador to Iraq, Marco Carnelos, where both sides discussed the political and economic climate in the region. He said that under the "already difficult circumstances" the Kurdistan region is hosting over two million refugees and internally displaced people across Erbil, Suleymania and Duhok, which is an enormous challenge and requires international aid.

“Except military aid for Peshmerga, the international community should assist the Kurdistan Region with financial support to lighten the Kurdistan’s economy in war expenditures,” Barzani said.

“Economic pressures on the Kurdistan Region is getting firm every day, and it makes the region’s duty to fight terrorism harder and tougher.”

For his part, the Italian Ambassador praised the Peshmerga forces for combatting extremism and as an effective power in the war against terrorism. He stressed that the discussion of financial support for Peshmerga is now a fundamental issue and will raise concerns with the international coalition.