Clashes erupt in Sinjar between Iraqi Army and PKK

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Clashes broke out between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Shingal Resistance Unit (YBS) and the Iraqi Army in Sinjar (Shingal) on Sunday and continued Monday near the Sinune subdistrict.

The fighting erupted on Sunday night in Bab Silo, near Khanasor, where the PKK-affiliated group has a base. It began after the YBS refused to remove checkpoints after an ultimatum from the Iraqi Army to do so by the beginning of May expired.

Murad Ismael, the co-founder of the foundation and president of the Sinjar Academy, tweeted that he spoke to a “few people involved in the dialogue and there is a great likelihood of escalation over the next days and weeks.”

The Iraqi Army plans to control the security situation of Sinjar and close the border with Syria. It is building a wall in Sinjar on the border with Syria. 

On Apr. 26, several Iraqi troops and armored vehicles arrived in Sinjar, and, on Apr. 30, an Iraqi senior military delegation arrived to discuss the PKK presence there. 

Read More: Iraqi senior military delegation arrives in Sinjar to discuss PKK presence

Clashes also broke out on the evening of Apr. 18 between the PKK-affiliated Internal Security Forces (Asayish in Kurdish) and the Iraqi Army after the Iraqi soldiers attempted to remove the checkpoints put in place by that militia. 

The group later kidnapped Iraqi soldiers, who were later released.

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, several militias with ties to Iran and the PKK oppose the deal's implementation.