Sinjar Agreement yet to be implemented, says Kurdish Peshmerga official

"The Sinjar agreement has not been implemented in practice despite Iraqi preparations for this file."

Kurdistan 24 2021/09/18 00:15

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Peshmerga, Sarbast Lazgin, during a press conference. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Iraq Sinjar Agreement Shingal Iraq PMF Erbil Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An agreement signed between Erbil and Baghdad to normalize the situation in the strategic Sinjar (Shingal) area has not been implemented, said the Kurdistan Region Undersecretary of the Ministry of Peshmerga, Sarbast Lazgin, on Friday.

Lazgin noted during a press conference in Washington D.C. that there are many obstacles to the Sinjar Agreement's implementation, including the presence of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) allies in the area.

In October 2020, Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced they had reached an agreement, with support from the UN, to restore and normalize the situation in Shingal, where competing armed groups are active.

The agreement includes a framework to withdraw all armed groups from the area, restore the local administration, and appoint a new mayor.

So far, however, these steps have not been taken, and despite the agreement’s strong international backing, multiple armed groups remain, making the administrative piece of the deal, to some degree, a moot point.

The Iraqi side has demonstrated readiness to implement the deal as is, Lazgin explained, adding that PKK allies come to the Shingal area to "destabilize the situation in the region."

"The Sinjar agreement has not been implemented in practice despite Iraqi preparations for this file... In addition, a group of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) supports the militias who are still stationed in Sinjar."

The Kurdish official then called on the federal government of Iraq to expel the PMF militias and PKK allies from Shingal district, Nineveh province, and facilitate the return of people displaced from the area.