Canadian Forces in tight spot over Kurdish independence
As Iraq’s Kurds prepare to vote on whether to declare an independent state, Canadian special forces — who work so closely with the Kurds in the fight against ISIL they have worn Kurdish flags on their uniforms — find themselves in a delicate situation.
With a Sept. 25 referendum looming, tensions between Kurds and Iraqis are on the rise. Iraq’s parliament voted Tuesday to “take all measures” to preserve the country’s unity and there are growing concerns fighting could break out between forces loyal to the Iraqi government, which has declared the referendum unconstitutional, and the Kurdish minority. There have already been some clashes between Iraqi militia and Kurdish troops.
In the turmoil of the war against ISIL, the Kurds have seized portions of Iraq, including 40 per cent of Iraq’s oil and the city of Kirkuk. On Thursday, the Iraqi parliament voted to fire the governor of Kirkuk province after it decided to officially take part in the referendum.
Since the fall of 2014, Canada has been providing equipment and training to Kurdish troops in northern Iraq as part of the coalition against ISIL.
In November 2015, Kurdish forces, with support from coalition fighter jets including Canadian CF-18s, helped push ISIL out of the city of Sinjar. The Kurdish flag — not Iraq’s — was erected over the city.
It’s unclear how the referendum will affect the future of the Canadian mission. For now, it is business as usual for the troops providing training to Kurdish forces.
But the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command did confirm Friday Canadian commandos have removed the Kurdish flags from their uniforms. Concerns were raised last year about what signal the Canadian military was sending by allowing special forces to wear the flag. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance decided at the time the practice would continue. However, that changed in May after the U.S. issued a decree its special forces in Syria had to remove Kurdish insignia from their uniforms.
Turkey had complained about the use of the insignia of a Kurdish separatist force it and other nations have branded a terrorist group.
Peggy Mason, a former disarmament ambassador in Brian Mulroney’s government, said Canada and its allies have failed to think beyond the next battle against ISIL and weigh the consequences of their actions in the region.
“How much progress have we really made if Iraq is so riven by internal divisions that new civil wars erupt ... with ISIL or its successors taking advantage of the various schisms and weakness of Baghdad at every turn?” said Mason, president of the Ottawa-based Rideau Institute.