ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed on Tuesday criticized Baghdad's decision to integrate Yazidi fighters in Nineveh province's Shingal (Sinjar) district into Iraq's security forces, accusing the federal government of violating the 2020 Shingal Agreement by failing to adequately consult the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
“Unfortunately, what is taking place in Shingal is outside the framework of the Shingal Agreement, and we have conveyed this complaint to the federal government. Unfortunately, the complaints have not been adequately heeded,” Ahmed told reporters in Erbil.
“We stress that any step taken in Shingal without consultation and coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will not yield good outcomes, nor will it have a direct [positive] impact on restoring peace and stability or enabling the return of the victims,” he added, referring to a large Yazidi displaced population in the camps of Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province.
His remarks came a day after roughly 2,000 members of the all-Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) formally joined Iraq’s security forces as part of a broader agreement to consolidate federal authority over Shingal.
The integration process follows Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s announcement last month that his government had reached an understanding with the YBS to transfer control of Mount Shingal to federal authorities and incorporate the group’s fighters into state institutions.
It also comes at a time when the premiere has set the end of June 2027 for pro-Iran armed groups to disarm and integrate into state security forces as part of his government’s agenda of restricting arms under state control.
The October 2020 Shingal Agreement, brokered between Baghdad and Erbil under United Nations supervision, envisaged reorganizing the district’s security and administration, including the withdrawal of unauthorized armed formations.
However, its implementation has stalled for years amid disagreements over local governance and the presence of the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)-affiliated forces.
The YBS emerged as a local Yazidi armed group following the Islamic State’s (ISIS) August 2014 assault on Shingal, during which thousands of Yazidis were killed or abducted in a campaign recognized as genocide. The group subsequently developed close ties with the PKK, while parts of its forces were incorporated into the PMF.
Zilkan military base and PKK presence
Ahmed said the KRG had not been party to an agreement between Iraq and Turkey concerning the possible withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base in Nineveh province.
“In truth, we were not party to the agreement between Iraq and Turkey regarding whether they will vacate the Zilkan military base or not,” he said.
“We have expressed our concern about this matter because the Zilkan base is situated behind Peshmerga points, and such issues require that nothing be carried out without consultation and coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government.”
The remarks follow a September 23 joint statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committing to the gradual handover of the base.
Turkey has long considered PKK-linked groups operating in Shingal a security threat, citing the district’s mountainous terrain as a potential corridor for fighters moving between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Turkey has said it would withdraw from Zilkan in a phased process once PKK fighters and PKK-affiliated forces are no longer present in Shingal.
Ahmed also reiterated the KRG’s opposition to the PKK’s presence in the Kurdistan Region, backing efforts to end the conflict through peaceful means.
“Honestly, the PKK’s presence in the Kurdistan Region is not legal, and from the outset, there was no reason for the PKK to be present in the Kurdistan Region,” he said.
“Therefore, anything that serves to remove this fighting and turmoil from the borders of the Kurdistan Region - whether through a peace process, by mutual conviction, or amicably - we support it.”
He said armed groups and military forces should no longer maintain a presence along the Region’s borders, adding that the Kurdistan Region’s political leadership, particularly President Masoud Barzani, supported resolving regional disputes peacefully.
Baghdad-Erbil security coordination
Ahmed also called for stronger coordination between Baghdad and Erbil, particularly following the formal conclusion of the US-led international coalition’s military mission in Iraq at the end of September.
“Following the departure of Coalition forces, it is necessary for this coordination to improve, especially given that there is a new government in Baghdad,” Ahmed said of military and security ties with the central government.
The minister warned against complacency in face of the threat posed by ISIS, arguing that the group remained capable of exploiting security vulnerabilities despite its territorial defeat in late 2017, calling for joint Erbil-Baghdad plans to mitigate the threat.
ISIS seized large swathes of Iraq in 2014 before losing its territorial strongholds. However, its sleeper cells continue to operate, particularly in remote areas of Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces, including disputed territories claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
“As the security institutions of the Kurdistan Region, our view is that ISIS remains a serious threat; however, unfortunately, some officials in Baghdad have come to the conviction that ISIS is finished,” he said.
“What we observe daily - not only in Iraq, but in Syria and neighboring countries - is an increase in terrorist activity,” Ahmed said.
