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Kurds arming themselves without Baghdad authorization

The Kurdistan Regional Government has been stealthily arming their militia. Recently three planeloads of small arms and ammunition from Bulgaria were delivered to Kurdish officials. The Washington Post reports:

The weapons arrived in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah in September on three C-130 cargo planes, according to the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Experts on Iraq’s constitution said the document does not clearly say whether provincial officials have the authority to import weapons. However, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Ministries of Interior and Defense are the only entities authorized to import weapons. The Defense Ministry provides weapons to the Iraqi army, and the Interior Ministry procures arms for the country’s police forces.

Posted by Steve on Nov 24th 2008 | Filed in military, news | Comments (4)