Peshmerga forces to begin returning to Kirkuk next week

Shafaq News / A military source reported today that the Peshmerga forces will start returning to Kirkuk starting next week.

The source that belongs to the Peshmerga forces told Shafaq News agency that eight officers from Brigades one and two of the Peshmerga will join the joint operations room at the K-1base in Kirkuk next Sunday.

 He added that within 7 to 15 days, the first brigade of the Peshmerga forces will return to Kirkuk governorate, for the first time since their withdrawal in October 2017, following tensions with the Iraqi army over the independence referendum.

The Peshmerga forces will gradually return to Kirkuk if all goes well, until two Peshmerga brigades are deployed in the governorate by next August.

The Peshmerga forces withdrew from Kirkuk to avoid a clash with the federal government forces that entered the governorate against the backdrop of tensions resulting from the independence referendum. Before the incident, the governorate was administered jointly by the two sides.

Since last year, the tension between Baghdad and Erbil has gradually eased, and the two sides reached an agreement to form joint coordination centers to fight ISIS, especially in the areas of security gaps between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga.