MESOP MIDEAST WATCH: Clash Imminent Between Iraqi Army and PKK Fighters in Sinjar

RUDAW – 15-1-2022The Iraqi army and groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have reinforced their positions in Sinjar where an armed conflict is imminent.

According to local sources, the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Unit (YBS) has warned of fierce reaction after the Iraqi army removed the statue of Zardasht Shingali, a slain PKK commander, from a square in the Yezidi-majority last Friday.

The YBS has given a 12-hour ultimatum to the Iraqi authorities to return the statue to its place or it might resort to force. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army has called for more reinforcement to address the issue.

Peshmerga Commander Qasim Shasho told BasNews that some armed factions of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias are supporting the PKK against the Iraqi Army which could further deteriorate the situation in Sinjar.

Zardasht Shingali was a PKK commander killed in a Turkish airstrike last year.

The situation in Sinjar remains fragile as the Iraqi federal government has failed to implement its 2020 agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government that requires all the armed forces outside the command of the state to leave Sinjar.

Iraqi authorities had previously warned the armed groups to avoid placing PKK statues and symbols in the public, a call which is repeatedly rejected by the PKK and its affiliated groups.