| 2023 Makhmour clashes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Iraqi-Kurdish conflict | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Peshmerga |  Iraqi army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Saleh Zirari † Posho Khalid † [3] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 killed 5 wounded [4] [5] | 2 killed 6 wounded [4] | ||||||
The Makhmour clashes (October 22, 2023) were a series of armed clashes which began between Peshmerga and the Iraqi army in the Kurdish majority town of Makhmour and its surrounding northwestern mountain range.
Makhmour camp houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey. It is located in an area disputed between Baghdad and Erbil and therefore characterized by a security vacuum. It has been hit many times by Turkish forces claiming to target the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). On the 19th of October, the PKK announced that it had withdrawn all its fighters from the camp and Iraqi troops were subsequently stationed in the areas they had evacuated. [6]
The clash, which reportedly broke out in the afternoon, [7] and lasted for around two hours before abating when commanders from both sides sought to defuse tensions, said military and Peshmerga sources. [8] The commander of the 18th Peshmerga infantry brigade Salih Zirari, and his deputy Posho Khalid were among the dead. [9] [10]
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani called for restraint following clashes between the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the disputed town, and directed a high-level committee to investigate the incident. The decision was welcomed by the Peshmerga ministry. [4] In November 2023, it was announced that the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga had come into an agreement.
The Peshmerga comprise the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region, a semi-autonomous political entity within the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for “the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as police, security forces, and guards of the region”. Other agencies include Asayish, Parastin û Zanyarî, and Zêrevanî. The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century, when they began as a strictly tribal pseudo-military border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians. By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.
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