MESOP “NOW BETTER WITH MESOP” : Number of Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga Increasing, Expected to Reach 10,000 – 5,000 Peshmerga from the regiment have thus far received military training

  Hiwa Ahmed –  BASNEWS – 22 July 2016 – Azizi Waisi, commander of Peshmerga elite forces of Zeravani, told Anadolu Agency that the number of Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga forces receiving military training in Kurdistan Region is mounting, with 5,000 fighters already graduated.

“We expect the number of Peshmerga fighters of Roj Regiment to rise to 10,000 in the future,” said the commander.Waisi stated that an Italian organization has recently offered to provide the Roj Peshmerga fighters with military training.Roj Peshmerga fighters fight along with Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces, and they have so far participated actively in some operations against IS near Mosul, Waisi said.Regarding the role of female fighters in Roj Peshmerga regiment, Waisi said, “women play an effective role within the regiment” noting that they fight alongside men in the battle against IS. Roj Peshmerga Regiment, consisting entirely from Syrian Kurds of both sexes, was established on March 12, 2012. They are trained by the Peshmerga ministry and equipped by the US to take part in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq. They have constantly been attempting to return to Rojava and defend their areas alongside the other Syrian Kurdish forces operating on the ground, but the Democratic Union Party (PYD) is opposing to their return. www.mesop.de