ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yazidi lawmaker Murad Ismael said Saturday that members of the Shingal Protection Units (YBS) would be integrated into several Iraqi security institutions, including the police, rejecting suggestions that all fighters would join the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Ismael's remarks came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said in an interview with state media that the YBS would be integrated into the PMF as part of an agreement to restore federal control over Shingal (Sinjar).
“The integration process is not limited to the PMF, only a portion of it, with part of it being integrated into the police and part of it into other security structures,” the lawmaker told Rudaw English, noting that “with the PMF there is more flexibility for integration.”
The PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic, is an umbrella organization of predominantly Shiite armed groups formed in 2014 following a religious edict by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to combat the Islamic State (ISIS). Formally incorporated into Iraq's security apparatus in 2016, the force operates under the authority of the prime minister, although some factions maintain close ties to Iran and have operated outside Baghdad's control.
The YBS traces its roots to 2007, when it emerged as a local Yazidi armed group in Shingal. It expanded significantly after ISIS attacked the district in August 2014, killing and abducting thousands of Yazidis.
During the fight against ISIS, the YBS developed close ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose fighters entered the area following the jihadists' assault and helped establish a corridor through which thousands of Yazidis trapped on Mount Shingal escaped.
Some YBS fighters were later incorporated into the PMF, while the group maintained its own armed presence in the district.
Asked when the integration process would be completed, Ismael said “in the next couple of days we will see the first step being announced,” adding that it would be finalized within a “short period of time,” which he estimated at “weeks or months.”
Ismael said he expected members of the YBS's all-women force to be integrated into the Iraqi interior ministry's Community Police.
“This is a significant step from the prime minister, and the credit goes to his decisiveness,” he said, adding that the process “is finalizing years of negotiations.”
The lawmaker expressed optimism that the agreement would help revive Shingal's economy and allow many YBS fighters to return to civilian life.
Viyan Hababi, a senior member of the YBS's women's force, told PKK-affiliated Roj News on Monday that no final agreement had been reached on the integration process, stressing that it would not involve disarmament.
She said they had demanded that the fighters remain in Shingal after integration into “government ministries” and retain their distinct Yazidi identity.
The integration plan was first announced in September following a meeting between YBS leaders and Zaidi in Baghdad, which Ismael also attended.
During Friday's interview, Zaidi said his government was working to resolve the issue of Turkey's military presence in Iraq, adding that “an understanding has been reached with the YBS.”
“Over the coming period, God willing, they [YBS] will hand over the mountain to us and integrate into the PMF. The Iraqi Army will take control of the mountain, and after that, the Iraqi Army will take over the Bashiqa base.”
The remarks come as Turkey prepares to gradually hand over its Bashiqa military base to Iraq's federal government as Baghdad implements agreed security measures in Shingal.
The agreement followed talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Zaidi on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in late September, when the two leaders agreed to restore full federal authority over Shingal, west of Mosul, and end “the presence of all proscribed foreign armed elements.”
Turkey established the Bashiqa base in 2015 following the ISIS offensive, deploying around 900 troops and heavy weaponry.
The base has long been a source of diplomatic tensions between Ankara and Baghdad, with Iraq accusing Turkey of violating its sovereignty.
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