In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, thanked France and all members of the international coalition for their help in the ongoing fight against the terror militia IS. However, he also noted that the full quantity and quality of heavy weapons needed to stop the IS assault in Iraq has not been delivered by the coalition.
“All the support that we have received so far is not up to the level that is needed,” explained Barzani. “The heavy weapons systems that we need, especially in terms of the quality and quantity, for example the APCs (armoured personnel carriers), the helicopters, the artillery we need for a decisive war against them – we have not received these types of weapons.”
As the IS is the most brutal and barbaric opponent the Kurdistan Region has faced so far, even in comparison with the dictatorial Iraqi regimes of the past, the supply is more urgent than ever before, Barzani clarified. The president further stressed that “the war is not finished. It’s true that the Islamic State has been weakened, but they have not lost complete capability of attack.”