DHAKA: France will deliver weapons to Kurdish forces fighting Islamic extremists in Iraq, French president Francois Hollande announced on Wednesday.

‘In order to respond to the urgent need expressed by the Kurdistan regional authorities, the president has decided, in agreement with Baghdad, to deliver arms in the coming hours,’ Hollande’s office said in a statement, reports daily Hurriyet.

Over the weekend, Paris already provided 18 tonnes of humanitarian aid and a new shipment of 20 tonnes of aid was due to arrive in northern Iraq later Wednesday.

Hollande reiterated France’s support for Iraq’s premier designate Haidar al-Abadi and urged a ‘unity government, representing all Iraqis to fight effectively against Islamic State’.

BDST: 2003 HRS, AUG 13, 2014