Reconstruction project in Shingal will begin in the New Year: Nineveh Governor

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Reconstruction projects in Sinjar (Shingal) will begin in the new year, Nineveh Governor Najim Jabouri revealed following a recent visit to the Yezidi (Ezidi) majority city.

According to Jabouri, seven billion Iraqi dinars had been prepared for a project in the new year to rebuild the main transportation routes connecting Shingal with its sacred shrines, temples, and the rest of the Nineveh governorate.

“For sure, there are many projects prepared for Shingal,” Jabouri told Kurdistan 24 about his trip. “The latest, which we will start at the beginning of the New Year, is the rebuilding of main roads and streets that connect the shrines and Yezidi temples to the city.”       

The emergence of the Islamic State and its violent assault on Shingal in 2014 led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Ezidis. Most of them fled to the Kurdistan Region, while others resettled in neighboring countries in the region or Western states.

Others were not as lucky and remained stranded in the war zone, where they experienced atrocities and mass executions at the hands of the extremist group for years.

Despite the optimism from provincial officials, the displaced people of Shingal are calling for immediate solutions as the city remains in ruins five years after its liberation from the so-called Islamic State.

The fight against the terror group left nearly 80 percent of the region damaged with infrastructure and roads in the city still demolished. Moreover, the city has not been thoroughly cleared of explosives the Islamic State left behind.

Azad Peshmam, a displaced Ezidi from Shingal, told Kurdistan 24 militants had looted and destroyed his home and property, along with many others in the area.

“After five years, there have been no projects nor a budget from the Iraqi government to renovate the city of Shingal,” Peshmam said.

Shingal, an area disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, is currently under the control of Iraqi forces and Shia militias. These forces, plus a limited number of Peshmerga and other Kurdish fighters, are present in the region and its outskirts with reports of tensions between them over who will control the strategic town that lies near the Syrian border.   

Farhan Issa, another displaced Ezidi, said his family has been unable to return home, adding that explosives in his village, Tel-Auzer, have yet to be de-mined.

“I visited my village and went in front of my house, but I did not go inside,” he told Kurdistan 24. “I was unsure if it was booby-trapped with explosives or not.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Additional reporting by Maha Shingali)