A graduation ceremony was held for a new platoon of Peshmergas in the Halgord Mountains, located on the border between eastern (Iranian) and southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan. Since the PDKI Peshmerga Forces returned to their former bases and locations in the border region between eastern and southern Kurdistan in late spring of 2015, they have offered Peshmerga training programs for new recruits in their traditional strongholds in the Qandil Mountains and other locations. A Peshmerga Commander announced that in spite of Iranian shelling, new recruits have successfully completed their training.<\/p>\n
The Peshmerga Platoon completed their training while Iran shelled the border area between eastern and southern Kurdistan.<\/p>\n
Omid Mandomi, a PDKI official, delivered a speech on behalf of the Political-Military Academy (\u201cFergai Syasi-Nizami\u201d in Kurdish) and hailed the new recruits bravery and high morale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis graduation demonstrates that Iranian shelling has failed\u201d, Mandomi averred.<\/p>\n
The new recruits pledged to continue the struggle of PDKI\u2019s recent martyrs in Shno and Mariwan in pursuit of the liberation of the Kurdish nation.<\/p>\n
Since 1993, when PDKI left the Qandil Mountains and moved its bases into the heartland of southern Kurdistan, new recruits were trained in locations outside of the party\u2019s traditional strongholds. With the gradual consolidation of the PDKI\u2019s Peshmerga Forces in the mountainous border area between eastern and southern Kurdistan since last summer, this has changed.<\/p>\n
PDKI has re-established its military academy in its traditional strongholds.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, PDKI established its Political-Military Academy to train Peshmergas in guerilla warfare. The recruits also received political education. The graduates were thus prepared to assume the combined role of party officials and guerilla fighters.<\/p>\n
PDKI\u2019s Political-Military Academy in the Qandil Mountains trained tens of thousands of Peshmergas in the 1980s and \u201890s.<\/p>\n
The people of eastern Kurdistan are hopeful about the return of PDKI\u2019s Peshmerga Forces to their traditional strongholds. Recent developments in the Middle East and increased oppression of the Kurdish people by the Islamic Republic of Iran have once again highlighted the strategic importance of PDKI\u2019s Peshmerga Forces in the struggle against the Islamist regime in Iran.<\/p>\n