PKK-Linked Yazidi Militia Units to Disarm and Join Iraq's Army in Push to Control Weapons
The move follows years of pressure to place all armed groups under state control and promises protection, compensation and reconstruction for Yazidis.
- On Monday, Iraqi armed forces spokesman Sabah Al-Numan announced that the Sinjar Resistance Units will dissolve their independent military status, with 4,165 fighters integrating into official state security institutions.
- Formed following the 2014 Islamic State genocide against the Yazidi community, the YBS gained prominence defending Sinjar, though ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party have long concerned Turkey.
- YBS leadership stated the agreement covers 4,165 fighters, noting the group lost 530 members during years of resistance and describing the transition as "not closing the book on our history."
- Al-Numan pledged that Iraq will protect Yazidis' rights, compensate victims' families, and support Sinjar's reconstruction, addressing the plight of over 110,000 residents still displaced after nearly 12 years.
- This move aligns with the 2020 Sinjar Agreement to centralize state authority, though powerful Iran-backed militias have refused to surrender weapons, citing anticipated regional escalations between Iran and the U.S.
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The Seattle TimesPKK-linked Yazidi militia units to disarm and join Iraq’s army in push to control weapons
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s government said Monday that a Yazidi armed group in the northern district of Sinjar would be dissolved and its fighters would join the country’s official security forces. The agreement comes as authorities seek to bring weapons under state control despite opposition from some of the country’s most powerful militias, and amid...
GazetteXtra
PKK-linked Yazidi militia units to disarm and join Iraq's army in push to control weapons
Iraq said the Sinjar Resistance Units, a Yazidi armed group, would dissolve and its fighters would join official security forces. The agreement comes amid efforts to bring weapons under state control and end Turkey’s military presence in northern Iraq. The…
Iraqi spokesman says move will transfer security responsibility for Sinjar Mountain to federal authorities as part of efforts to bring all weapons under state control
PKK-linked Yazidi group to hand over arms to Iraqi government - Turkish Minute
An armed Yazidi group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is handing over its weapons and joining Iraq’s security forces, the Iraqi government announced Monday. The Sinjar Protection Units, based in northern Iraq for more than a decade, draws its fighters from the Yazidi minority, which suffered massacres under the Islamic State group during its control of large parts of Iraq between 2014 and 2017. The group has ties to the PKK…
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