Politics

'PKK has no legal or constitutional justification for staying in Sinjar': Experts

"The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are the two official sides who must decide Sinjar's future."

Dler S. Mohammed 2022/05/08 14:11

Two PKK militants standing at a checkpoint in the Yezidi town of Sinjar. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Iraq PKK Armed groups in Iraq Militias in Iraq Sinjar Agreement Sinjar Krg Kurdistan Region Iraqi federal government

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The continued armed presence of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and affiliated militias in the Yezidi-majority Sinjar region has no legal or constitutional basis, experts have told Kurdistan 24.

"Iraq has the legal and constitutional right to implement the Sinjar agreement and remove the PKK from Sinjar," Dr. Bakir Qadir, a constitution expert and professor at Knowledge University in Erbil, told Kurdistan 24 correspondent Renas Ali on Saturday. "However, regional powers, the agendas of internal armed groups, and lack of the rule of law prevent Iraq from exercising this right."

"The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are the two official sides who must decide Sinjar's future and its administrative form, not foreign armed groups," Qadir said. "Unfortunately, there is no rule of law in Iraq."

Qadir emphasized that "the PKK has no legal or constitutional support to stay in Sinjar," pointing out that "it only uses the logic of force to remain there."

"The Iraqi armed groups who are a prominent part of the political process in Iraq support the PKK," Farhan Jawher, a political expert and former member of the Kurdistan Parliament, told Kurdistan 24's Ali. "These armed groups have been legitimized in Iraq by parliament's vote, and they don't let the Iraqi army remove the PKK from Sinjar."

"As you see, the Iraqi army has not been able to control Sinjar militarily because the PKK is very well supported," Jawher added.

He pointed out that "the PKK's presence in Sinjar as a foreign armed group is a violation of international laws and Iraq's rule of law."

The situation in Sinjar is getting more complicated by the day, with more civilians getting displaced due to the clashes between the PKK-affiliated militias and the Iraqi Army.

Although there is an agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq to normalize the situation in Sinjar, it hasn't been implemented due to the PKK presence.

The Iraqi Army deployed troop reinforcements to the Yezidi-majority town over the past week.

These reinforcements are intended to enforce "state authority and law," the spokesperson for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command Maj. Gen. Tahseen Al-Khafaji told the Iraqi News Agency on Thursday.

The arrival of these reinforcements followed violent clashes between the Iraqi Army and the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) and Yezidi Khan Asayish beginning late last Sunday.

Over 10,000 people have been displaced from Sinjar since these renewed clashes began, Duhok's governor announced on Thursday.

The number of displaced kept rising throughout the week despite the Iraqi Army repeatedly insisting that the security situation had become "stable" again.

Major General Jabar Al-Tayi, Commander of West Nineveh Operations, and Brigadier General Atheer Al-Zubaidi, Commander of the 20th Division, held a series of meetings with the notables in Sinjar on Thursday and reassured them about the security situation there.

"Our goal is to pursue all armed and outlawed groups in Sinjar," Al-Tayi told the Sinjar notables. "We will not allow the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to stand in the army's way, and we have orders to strike anyone who tries to tamper with the area's security."

Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 Correspondent Renas Ali