Iraqi Army and Yezidi Peshmerga in holy shrine standoff
Rudaw’s correspondent Tahsin Qasim revealed that the Iraqi forces and the Hashd paramilitaries tried to enter the Shiekh Sharafadin shrine at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a large convoy of Iraqi Army forces arrived in Shingal in a bid to replace the withdrawing forces of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) following threats of an imminent invasion of the Yezidi town by Turkey.
The Yezidi forces, however, blocked the Iraqi Army and Hashd forces, which are trying to enter the shrine under the pretext of protecting it. The shrine is considered the second most holy Yezidi site.
No clashes have taken place but both sides are on high alert, according to Rudaw’s correspondent. The commander of the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi chief of staff are currently holding telephone negotiations.
A large protest by the Yezidis of Snune is planned later on Wednesday against the insistence of the Iraqi forces.
The Shiekh Sharafadin shrine is a symbol of resistance for Yezidis as it never fell to ISIS following the terrorist group’s takeover of the town. The shrine was defended by the Yezidis each time it was attacked.
Peshmerga are enshrined in the 2005 Iraqi constitution as a part of the Iraqi Security Forces.
The Iran-backed Hashd began taking control of ISIS-controlled southern Shingal in the Spring of 2017. An earthen berm just north of Kocho demarcated the Hashd's northern front. The Iraqi army and some Hashd moved northward in October 2017 during Baghdad's federal takeover of many disputed or Kurdistani areas claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
The PKK and their Shingal Protection Units (YBS/YBJ) maintained a presence until this week, when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the PKK would leave and the local forces would be absorbed into the Iraqi security structure.