PKK, militia groups continue to ‘occupy’ Sinjar, says KRG interior minister

“Armed groups, militias, and the PKK continue to occupy the area.”

Kurdistan 24 2023/11/08 14:50

KRG Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed speaking at Iraq Initiative Conference 2023 in London, Nov. 8, 2023. (Photo: Chatham House)

Kurdistan KRG Reber Ahmed Sinjar Agreement

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other militia groups continue their occupation of the Sinjar district despite the presence of an agreement to oust the armed groups, said a Kurdistan Region minister on Wednesday.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed said the remarks in a speech he delivered at Chatham House in London, United Kingdom, where the think tank is currently holding the Iraq Initiative Conference 2023.

Speaking of the Sinjar Agreement, signed between Erbil and Baghdad in 2020 to normalize the administrative and security situation, Mr Ahmed said the militia groups, including PKK, are still occupying the Yezidi-majority town.

“Armed groups, militias, and the PKK continue to occupy the area,” the minister said, adding a local government has not yet been elected while thousands of Yezidi are still in the Kurdistan Region’s camps.

The minister has previously lambasted the Kurdish militant group and other militias for hampering the implementation of the deal that had been widely supported by the international community, including the United Nations.

The Japanese ambassador to Iraq in October told Kurdistan 24 that a school that was funded by the Asian country is now under the control of the PKK-affiliated militia known as YBS.

“No access to more than 1,000 students” after a year of its construction, he said, describing the inaccessibility as “a problem” for the Yezidi students.