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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A top Iraqi military official insisted on Tuesday that all armed groups will be leaving Iraq’s northern district of Shingal, after a major group agreed to withdraw from the disputed territory as part of a major governance and security deal.
The Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) reportedly said it would withdraw its forces from the district and relocate to Mount Sinjar after meetings with Iraqi forces, several local sources confirmed to Rudaw on Monday.
YBS, a group affiliated with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had until recently stood against an agreement struck in October between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which places Shingal’s (Sinjar) security in the hands of Baghdad. The group, however, is just one of some six armed groups currently operating in the area.
"As per the agreement, all non-official armed groups are going to leave Sinjar," Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq’s Joint Operation Command, told Rudaw English on Tuesday, noting that this includes groups in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi).
When asked where the armed group members will be going, the general said: "We do not care where they go. It is their problem."
"Iraqi forces have entered the whole district, and we are here to implement the deal," he added.
Khafaji had earlier told Rudaw’s Tahsin Qasim that federal forces were now in place in front of government institutions and political party offices.
Under the Erbil-Baghdad agreement, the federal government will have to establish a new armed force recruited from the local population and expel fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and their affiliated groups, according to details released in October.
Groups of people gathered in front of YBS-affiliated security force (asayish) offices in the towns of Khanasor, Shingal, and Sinune upon hearing news of the decision on Monday night, calling on the militia group to not leave the areas.
Video footage published by PKK-affiliated media outlet Roj News show dozens of Shingal residents gathering in front of asayish offices in the town of Sinune on Tuesday to express their opposition to the latest developments, setting tires on fire.
Implementation of the agreement began last week with the deployment of some 6,000 federal police to the areas of Shingal that border Syria.
“Three brigades of Iraqi federal forces are placed on the border between Shingal and Syria in order to prevent any forces from going back and forth,” Deputy Governor of Nineveh province Sirwan Rozhbayani told Rudaw on November 22.
The Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) reportedly said it would withdraw its forces from the district and relocate to Mount Sinjar after meetings with Iraqi forces, several local sources confirmed to Rudaw on Monday.
YBS, a group affiliated with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had until recently stood against an agreement struck in October between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which places Shingal’s (Sinjar) security in the hands of Baghdad. The group, however, is just one of some six armed groups currently operating in the area.
"As per the agreement, all non-official armed groups are going to leave Sinjar," Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq’s Joint Operation Command, told Rudaw English on Tuesday, noting that this includes groups in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi).
When asked where the armed group members will be going, the general said: "We do not care where they go. It is their problem."
"Iraqi forces have entered the whole district, and we are here to implement the deal," he added.
Khafaji had earlier told Rudaw’s Tahsin Qasim that federal forces were now in place in front of government institutions and political party offices.
Under the Erbil-Baghdad agreement, the federal government will have to establish a new armed force recruited from the local population and expel fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and their affiliated groups, according to details released in October.
Groups of people gathered in front of YBS-affiliated security force (asayish) offices in the towns of Khanasor, Shingal, and Sinune upon hearing news of the decision on Monday night, calling on the militia group to not leave the areas.
Video footage published by PKK-affiliated media outlet Roj News show dozens of Shingal residents gathering in front of asayish offices in the town of Sinune on Tuesday to express their opposition to the latest developments, setting tires on fire.
Implementation of the agreement began last week with the deployment of some 6,000 federal police to the areas of Shingal that border Syria.
“Three brigades of Iraqi federal forces are placed on the border between Shingal and Syria in order to prevent any forces from going back and forth,” Deputy Governor of Nineveh province Sirwan Rozhbayani told Rudaw on November 22.
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