Commander: Peshmerga open Duhok-Sinjar road

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Forces have announced the road connecting the Yezidi (Ezidi) majority town of Sinjar (Shingal) and the city of Duhok will reopen in the coming days.

Babakir Zebari, the Supervisor of the Western Dijla frontline of the Peshmerga Forces, told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga had decided to open Duhok-Shingal road through Sihela next week.

The Peshmerga Forces will open the road between Duhok and Zummar district as well as requested by the Peshmerga Ministry and the people of the area, Zebari said.

He noted that Peshmerga were not aware whether the Iraqi-controlled areas would reopen the road as Kurdish forces and the Iraqi army in the northern region are no longer in cooperation.

Zebari explained that the decision to reopen the road linking Duhok to Shingal through Rabia’a has not yet been implemented and that the people of Shingal can nevertheless travel through Zummar.

Recently, Ezidi activist and UN Goodwill Ambassador, Nadia Murad, in a tweet expressed her concern regarding the blocking of roads to Shingal and Bashiq, and called on the Iraqi government and the KRG “to agree on terms to open the roads.”

Following the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi attacks on the Peshmerga forces on Oct. 16, all major roads between the Kurdistan Region and other Kurdistani areas outside of the KRG’s administration [disputed territories] were blocked.

After an agreed cease-fire between the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga, a number of roads were reopened, but others linking the Duhok and Nineveh provinces remained close.

Editing by Nadia Riva