The "Roj Peshmerga" were founded on Barzani's order on April 12, 2012 against the revolutionary forces in Rojava, set to act against the autonomous administration there in the sense of the KDP and the Turkish government. They are close to the "Syrian Kurdish National Council" ENKS controlled by the KDP and Turkish intelligence service MIT. The approximately 6000 militiamen were mainly recruited from the refugee camps in Southern Kurdistan.

A spokesman of the Libyan National Army (LNA) under General Haftar has stated that Turkey is moving more troops to Libya to support the Muslim Brother regime and among them are mercenaries who were trained as "Roj Peshmerga" in Southern Kurdistan. After this statement from Libya, PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) MP Serko Azad Gelali sent a letter to the Kurdistan Regional Parliament Presidency on the matter.

Their foundation was not legal, on what basis are they paid?

In his letter to KRG, Gelali said the following: "They all come from Western Kurdistan [Rojava]. They have been given wages and trained by the [Southern Kurdistan] government for years. On what basis does the government pay this salary and what budget is made available to them? Their salary is about 15 billion dinars per month. According to the law, all those who are paid [by the state] must be Iraqi citizens. This was illegal from the start, as was the formation of this force."

The PUK deputy pointed out that these "peshmergas" were trained by official bodies but "fight shoulder to shoulder with the Turkish-backed gangs. Gelali continued: "The Roj Peshmergas are Kurds from Rojava and they belong to the ENKS. The KDP is supporting and arming them. They were founded under the aegis of the South Kurdistan regional government and have been receiving pay from it for years. While ISIS mercenaries and the Turkish army attacked and besieged Western Kurdistan, the Roj Peshmergas did not defend either Afrin or Kobanê."

“They must be dissolved”

Gelali demanded the dissolution of the militia and initiation of an investigation against those responsible. The militiamen should be sent to Western Kurdistan, said the PUK deputy.

"Staining the reputation of Peshmerga"

Gelali continued: "I call on the regional government to make a public statement on this. The Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior must question this issue most seriously. They have damaged the reputation of the Kurds regionally and internationally. The Peshmerga are part of the international anti-terror coalition. The name of the peshmerga is sacred. It is a patriotic, national and liberal force. This name must not be used in any other way."