Yawar pointed to the territories where the peshmerga forces were stationed, saying, “They are stationed in these territories since 2010 along with the Iraqi forces, and that they did not cross them.” According to an agreement with the Baghdad government in 2010, the boundaries of these territories were agreed upon, with a joint security line between peshmerga forces and the federal government forces. They constitute territories which the federal government calls the disputed territories.
The aforementioned boundary line starts from Faysh Khabur and Sinjar and passes through Zammar, Sheikhan, Bertla, Bashiqa and al-Hamdaniya in Mosul. It then passes through Quweir, Makhmur and Dabike in Erbil. It also crosses Dibs in Kirkuk and in the west of Kirkuk, and Taza and Tuz in Salahuddin. The line then goes through Jabara and Qura Taba in Diyala province, and finally heads toward Jalawla, Saadiye and Naft Khana. “It is worth mentioning that there were series of joint checkpoints, joint operations and coordination centers between the peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army officers,” Yawar said.
“After the events of June 10, the Iraqi army left its positions within the joint lines as well as in Mosul, Salahuddin and other areas,” Yawar said. “Therefore, we were forced to fill in for the Iraqi army with the same peshmerga forces existing within this region. We did not march or move forward for expansion purposes, we only strengthened the military sites left by the federal government forces.”
Regarding the call made by Barzani to peshmerga veterans to join the fighting fronts, Yawar said, “There is a regulation governing the enlistment of peshmerga veterans to specific stations.” The latter added, “We will recruit them when we need them; they are a reserve force that will support troops on the front line.”
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