MESOP : SINJARIS / YEZIDID CALL FOR KRG-PESHMERGA

Sinjaris Call For Special Peshmerga Force to Protect the Town / Local administrator asks for special budget from KRG to reconstruct Sinjar Town

Basnews | Hoshmand Sadiq – 22.12.2014 14:10 – SINJAR – The administrator of the Kurdish Yazidi majority town of Sinjar in northern Iraq has asked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to set aside a special budget to reconstruct the town.“Since Sinjar was captured by Islamic State (IS) militants at the beginning of August, most of the town has been destroyed,” said Sinjar Mayor Maisar Haji to BasNews on Monday.

“The town is badly damaged due to the clashes between IS militants and Peshmerga forces. It needs to be completely cleared after liberation as IED bombs have been planted around almost all the buildings, houses and roads. It must be totally cleaned before life in the town can recover.”Haji is requesting that the KRG provide a special budget for the town to reconstruct services like electricity and water which have been destroyed. “We were receiving electricity from Mosul before, but now that has been completely cut,” he said. “So far the KRG has not made any decision about providing a special budget for reconstructing Sinjar. We also ask that the KRG establish a special force of Peshmerga in the town,” added Haji.

Sinjar was captured by IS insurgents in August, which led to an enormous number of people leaving the town and more than 5,000 Yazidi women were kidnapped and trafficked by IS militants. On December 17, Peshmerga forces under the leadership of Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani started a military operation to free Sinjar – and so far only a few places remain under the control of IS militants.