The Peshmerga is infamously divided between units controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Peshmerga Forces 70 Command is controlled by the PUK. Its KDP counterpart is known as Peshmerga Forces 80 Command.

Some units fall under the control of the KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, but their commanders often retain partisan affiliations.

Mustafa told Voice of America (VOA) that most of the obstacles to the unification of the Peshmerga are gone now.

He said that Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Co-President Bafel Talabani has expressed the party’s readiness to the International Coalition regarding the unification of Peshmerga.

Over the past month, the PUK has been rocked by a power struggle between co-presidents Lahur Sheikh Jangi and Talabani, with control of the security forces a critically important point.

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