ERBIL — Kurdish prominent leader Masoud Barzani on Sunday received Alberto Ortega Martín, the apostolic nuncio to Iraq and his accompanying delegation in Erbil.

The Holy See representative thanked Barzani for his leadership and the Peshmerga forces for their sacrifices in the war against the Islamic State (IS), according to the readout of the meeting by Barzani Headquarter.

“What Peshmerga [forces] did was for humanity,” the readout quoted Martín.

He also thanked the Kurdistan Region for receiving IDPs, including Christians and from other religious groups, with open arms when they escaped IS’s brutality in their hometowns.

Barzani and Martín also discussed the ongoing protests in Baghdad, emphasizing that the people have the right to peacefully voice their demands, and no violent response to the demonstrations is acceptable.