Iraqi MPs seek halt to transfer of arms for Peshmerga

Iraq’s parliament called for a halt to foreign transfer of arms to Peshmerga after reports that the Kurdish militants had used German weapons to attack government forces in Kirkuk.

The legislature’s National Security and Defense Committee had sent an advisory to the country's defense ministry, calling for measures to stop such shipments, Al Hadath reported, as quoted by Fars News Agency. 

“The aim of stopping supply of arms to Peshmerga forces is to halt the weapons from being used against the Iraqi armed forces,” Hakem al-Zameli, the head of the committee, said as he asked countries to halt their arms sales to the fighters.

The call came after an Iraqi military statement said Kurdish militants were increasingly using US and German weapons against the army which overtook the control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk last week. 

The statement said German rockets supplied to Peshmerga were used in Altun Kupri and Qush Tapa, causing casualties among government troops.  

The clashes are getting more fierce as government forces are closing in on Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Baghdad launched the military operation after Kurdish militants did not heed a government ultimatum to withdraw from Kirkuk.

EA