UN needs to closely monitor Sinjar situation: Ezidi MP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A Yezidi (Ezidi) Member of the Iraqi Parliament has warned the UN that the situation in Sinjar (Shingal) remains unstable for thousands of families in the area as Turkey threatened to carry out military operations in northern Iraq.

In a meeting with Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Iraq Jan Kubis, Vian Dakhil, herself an Ezidi Kurd, called for the UN to pay continued attention to the over 10,000 Ezidi families living in Shingal and its outskirts amid concerns the security situation will deteriorate.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Shingal, two days after the group announced its withdrawal from the area.

Dakhil stressed the need to prevent a security vacuum in the region, stating the UN needs a plan to maintain the fragile security of Shingal, the people living there, and its parties.

The PKK on Friday claimed the area was now free of security threats, allowing it to withdraw from the Kurdish-Ezidi city. Following Ankara’s threats to attack the Turkish terror-designated group within Iraq, however, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command revealed it had deployed Iraqi forces and pro-Iran Shia Hashd al-Shaabi (PMF) militias to Shingal.

Dakhil warned that opportunistic parties could destabilize the situation in the area.

“Remnants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group should constantly be pursued so that they can be prosecuted and brought to justice so that they can receive their inevitable punishment,” the statement published by Dakhil’s Media Office continued.

The Turkish President warned that should Iraq fail to secure the border area, Ankara would send troops across the border, vowing “to fight terrorists inside and outside Turkey.”

“It’s our job to clear the area,” an Iraqi military spokesperson responded.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany