YBS tells US delegation they’re independent force for Yezidis in Shingal

SHINGAL, Kurdistan Region—The commander of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) says that his group met with a delegation from the Erbil US consulate general on Thursday where he told the delegation that his was an independent force and in the region to protect the local Yezidi community.

A statement from the YBS said that the US consulate delegation led by Consul General Ken Gross had met with leaders of the YBS, the women’s units (YJS) and head of the Shingal reconstruction council.

“In the meeting we talked about the issues of Shingal, its protection and reconstruction,” read the statement. “In the meeting it was also explained that the fighters of Shingal are an independent force and their goal is the protection of the Yezidis and they are not affiliated with the PKK,”

The group described such claims as propaganda against its advances.

Kurdish authorities in Erbil believe that the YBS is affiliated with and set up by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after their arrival in the Shingal region in 2014 and they have asked PKK leaders to leave the area.

A statement on the US Consulate’s Facebook page confirms a visit by Consul General Gross to Duhok and Shingal on December 10, “to discuss progress in communities liberated from Da’esh, conditions for those still displaced, and mechanisms to allow people to return home. While there, he met with the mayors of Sinjar and Sununi, KDP and PUK officials, Peshmerga, Yezidi political leaders, and Yezidi women in uniform fighting Da’esh.”

“It is encouraging to see people have returned home and are rebuilding their communities after the terrible tragedy Da’esh brought upon the region. I am always impressed in the strength and resilience of the Yezidi people in particular, and of all the communities in Sinjar.” Consul General Gross was quoted as saying.