“In answering our follow-up, PMF Authority [head Falih al-Fayyadh] affirmed that no [PMF] forces will be formed from the Kurdistanis in the areas outside the Kurdistan Region administration,” read a statement from the ministry.
The ministry said that the PMF communicated that it was “unaware of the force in Kirkuk” and would “work to dismantle such a force if any steps had been taken to form one.”
Later, Commander of the PMF’s North Axis Abu Reda Al-Najjar strongly denied the reports, saying that “we announce that there are no verbal or written approvals” for the purported unit.
Citing a statement by an advisor to the PMF Emad Hussein, reports said on Saturday that ethnic Kurds living in the Kirkuk countryside had formed a 100-member PMF unit to protect local residents from attacks by Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
“How Turkmans and Arabs have their own regiments, the Kurds have the same right,” Hussein said during a press conference.
“There are plans to form new forces [by PMF] in some places and areas, especially in the Kurdish areas where ISIS poses threats,” he added.
The federal government pushed the Peshmerga out of Kirkuk in October 2017 and other disputed areas following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum the month before. Since then, security in the governorate has been run by the federal police, the Iraqi Security Forces, and the PMF.
ISIS militants remain active in the disputed areas, taking advantage of the security vacuum between federal forces and those controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Reporter's code: 50101