High-level Iraqi military delegation arrives in Sinjar amid clashes

An Iraqi soldier was killed in Monday's fighting in Sinjar.
An Iraqi soldier standing guard by a wall with the acronym 'PKK' inscribed on it in Sinjar (Photo: AP)
An Iraqi soldier standing guard by a wall with the acronym 'PKK' inscribed on it in Sinjar (Photo: AP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - A top Iraqi Army delegation arrived in the Yezidi-majority town of Sinjar early Tuesday to assess the security situation following the outbreak of violent clashes. 

The delegation consists of the Deputy Commander of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command 1st Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Al-Shamari, Chief of Staff of the Army Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, and a number of Iraqi security officials, read a statement from the Command released on Tuesday. 

"They are in Sinjar district to assess the security situation and visit the military units," the statement added. 

The visit comes as the Iraqi military engaged in firefights with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-affiliated fighters in Snuny town in the northern part of the Yezidi district.

An Iraqi soldier was killed in Monday's fighting in Sinjar. The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has not announced the soldier's death as of writing. 

The Iraqi military was removing "checkpoints" when they came under "heavy fire" from the PKK-affiliated militants, according to a statement from the army on Monday. 

The army shot back and cleared the roads of the barriers, the statement added. 

As a result of these clashes, 3,579 people from at least 650 families have been displaced and are seeking shelter in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province, an official from the Joint Crisis Coordination Center told Kurdistan 24 on Monday. 

Per the October 2020 Sinjar agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Iraqi government aims to form a new force composed of the local Yezidis with no "foreign affiliation" to manage the district's security.