Senior Iraqi delegation arrives in Sinjar following clashes between army, PKK-affiliated militants

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-level Iraqi security delegation arrived in the Yezidi-majority town of Sinjar on Thursday amid skirmishes between the army and local forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

The delegation, including the Iraqi Army’s Joint Headquarters Chief of Staff Abdul Amir Yarallah, the head of Iraqi National Security Service Hamid al-Shatri, and a number of other officials, came to “follow on the security situation,” the state Iraqi News Agency announced. 

The visit comes after clashes broke out Tuesday evening between the PKK-affiliated Yezid Khan Asayish (internal security) and the Iraqi Army after the soldiers attempted to remove the checkpoints put in place by the militia. The clashes caused a number of injuries. The group also took two Iraqi soldiers hostage. 

Similar clashes have broken out in the town in the past. Sinjar still has not been reconstructed following the war against ISIS, partially because of the disruptive presence of these armed groups. 

In October 2020, the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed the Sinjar Agreement with the support of the United Nations to “restore and normalize” the situation in the Yezidi town. 

Per the agreement, a local force would be formed and put in charge of the town’s security. However, a number of militias with ties to Iran and the PKK oppose the implementation of the deal.