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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Yazidi commander in Shingal has claimed that the Erbil-Baghdad deal on governance and security in the disputed district has not been implemented properly.
“In terms of implementing the deal between Erbil and Baghdad, the procedures are slow and the deal has not been implemented properly,” Haidar Shasho, commander of the Ezidkhan Protection Force in Shingal incorporated into the Peshmerga forces, told Rudaw English on Monday.
“There are still Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) units and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) affiliated groups inside Shingal, even though they were supposed to leave,” Shasho said.
The PMF is a network of paramilitary groups, some of which are backed by Iran.
Baghdad reached a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on October 9 over the governance and security of Shingal, which is disputed between the two governments.
Under the agreement, security for the troubled region is Baghdad's responsibility. 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.
Implementation of the agreement began in November 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 in November.
"As per the agreement, all non-official armed groups are going to leave Sinjar [Shingal]," Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq’s Joint Operation Command, told Rudaw English on December 1, noting that this includes groups in the PMF.
Turkey has launched several airstrikes on the district, claiming to target affiliates of the PKK – a Kurdish armed group fighting for increased rights for Turkey’s Kurds, which is seen as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Earlier on Monday, Yehia Rasool, the spokesperson for Iraq’s commander-in-chief told state media that the presence of federal forces has brought “relief” to Shingal.
“There is a sense of common relief in Sinjar with the presence of federal forces in the region, the security of the town has improved and encourages the return of the displaced.”
“In terms of security, Shingal is good, it is much better than other disputed areas such as Khanaqin where Islamic State (ISIS) is very active,” Shasho said. “However, lately the return of the displaced has lessened.”
Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis were displaced from Shingal in the ISIS attack, most of whom remain in the Kurdistan Region.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, prompted waves of returns to the area last year.
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