Haidar Shasho, who leads a unit of Yezidi Peshmerga, still remains in Shingal with his force. Though he’s on the payroll of the Kurdish Peshmerga ministry, he was allowed to stay in the Yezidi town the day Iraqi forces and the Hashd entered the town on October 17.
Shasho told Rudaw that when Iraqi and Hashd forces advanced on Shingal, despite wider withdrawals on other fronts he decided to remain in the city with his force “in our positions.”
“We’ve come here to protect you not to fight with you and in no way we’ll interfere in administrative affairs of the town,” Shasho quoted the Iraqi forces who entered the town at 10:00 am that day.
Shasho added however that the Hashd broke their promise shortly afterwards and began looting people’s homes.
“We took up the issue with the Iraqi military but they said those who are doing the looting are the Hashd al-Shaabi and we have no authority over them,” Shasho claimed.
According to Shasho, there are a number of Yezidis in the force that entered Shingal as “soldiers in the Iraqi army or members of the Hashd al-Shaabi.”
Shasho says that he had warned the Iraqi forces “that they are not allowed to punish any of his Peshmerga.”
The Yezidi leader said that he has “no agreement with the Iraqis whatsoever,” adding that he trusts the “army to restore the situation but no trust in the Hashd al-Shaabi at all.”
He added that there isn’t much contact between them and the Peshmerga Ministry, but he vowed that his force “will remain in Shingal and will never leave.”
