This, in the Kurdish language, means "Peshmerga" and the fighters who continue to forcefully repel the ISIS attacks that are pressing on the front of Iraqi Kurdistan fully deserve to bear that name.
Thanks to their efforts, the fundamentalists with the black flags begin to lose ground, but the dangerous threat is felt through suicide attacks and dissemination of improvised explosive devices, whose acronym, IED, has become sadly famous as a tool favored by the Taliban in the war in Afghanistan.
To face the battle against death, the courage and determination of the Kurds in defending their land are certainly winning weapons, not least because they are veteran fighters, but they alone are not enough. This is why in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, the international coalition is training hundreds of men to enable them to respond more effectively to the threat.
The mission, in which Italy participates with about a hundred instructors placed within a multinational training center (Center Terrorism Service), all belonging to the Italian Army, has the aim of resolving critical issues, identified above all in the inadequacy of equipment and means of protecting the Kurds to improve their ability to repel continuous attacks. In particular, the suicide car bomb attacks, a typical technique used against the positions held by the Peshmerga.
From this point of view, the "Folgore" anti-tank weapons donated by Italy have proved to be decisive, capable of neutralizing the car bomb before it arrives on the defensive lines, and indispensable training has been shown for their use that Italian instructors daily impart. As we said, the Italian instructors are a hundred and the same number is that of the Kurds already trained by our country.
To attend the courses held by the Italian army there are then, currently, two hundred fighters already reached a good point in the preparation. All types of courses in progress follow specific requests by the Ministry of Peshmerga, the Kurdish Peshmerga command body.
Particularly strong is the demand for courses for the use of counter-arms, precisely because, as we said, very effective on the front line.
The training, as a whole, covers several sectors. The "basic" courses cover infantry techniques that improve the skills on shooting with the supplied weapons, on fighting in population centers, on defensive operations, on first aid and on operations in environments at high risk of explosive traps. Then, specific courses of command and control are active for commandant officers, courses on the use of heavy weapons, precision shooting and reclamation of regulatory and improvised explosive devices.
"We fight to defend our families, our land, it would be nice one day to see our people finally free and at peace", so a Peshmerga fighter explains the determination of the forces in the field to reject ISIS.
The concern of the Kurds concerns not only the people, but also the cultural assets that fundamentalists are devastating throughout Iraq. In fact, Kurdistan is a land with a multi-millennial history. The "Citadel" in the center of Erbil, for example, appears to be the oldest city in history.
“We are very attentive to respect for historical and cultural heritage, we strongly condemn the destruction carried out by fundamentalists and we will try to stop those too”, is one of the other objectives set. Hopes for the future can be perceived in the words of the Italian commander of the Erbil mission, who knows the area well for having participated in the 1991 Provide Comfort mission.
During the Gulf War, this was intended to defend and bring humanitarian aid to the Kurds fleeing to the north of Iraq.
"After 24 years from my first mission in this region, even if the situation is still difficult, I can confirm that the conditions of life and wellbeing of the Kurdish people have greatly improved". And the hope of all is that they can still improve, along with those of all the peoples currently subjected to the fundamentalist threat.
Daniela Lombardi
(photo: Boris Niehaus / Italian Army)
