The presence of PKK-linked groups in Sinjar in Northern Iraq, which was re-seized last month after 15 months of DAESH control, drew strong reactions from citizens and officials loyal to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), saying their presence is encroaching on Iraq's sovereignty.
Several groups affiliated with the PKK have joined the recent fight against DAESH, coming from Syria and virtually settling in the town.
However, the district governor of Sinjar, Mahma Khalil Qasim, says that the PKK's invasion of the town is unlawful, putting local officials in a miserable position in terms of their ability to conduct official works. "They have occupied six of the remaining buildings and they do not abandon these posts. We are thankful for those who sacrifice their lives [in the fight] against DAESH; however, we do not need the PKK and the state must remove them from Sinjar. They cannot stay here," he said.
Qasim even claimed that when the PKK was asked to leave a building of the police department, PKK members stated that they were staying in the building under orders from Baghdad, claiming, "Peshmerga forces freed the entire district of Sinjar. President [Masoud] Barzani and peshmerga forces are behind of us, as Yazidis. We do not want problems. They shall leave our hometown and everything shall return to the way it is used to be."
In November, a high-ranking PKK militant previously admitted that they maintained their presence in Sinjar because peshmerga forces' refusal to cooperate in the fight against DAESH. "Peshmerga forces will not allow foreign groups to create trouble," Khalil said at that time, adding that the PKK is trying "ruin the situation in the area for its own purposes."
Kurdish militia fighters – known as the peshmerga – have launched a major offensive to retake Sinjar and succeeded. U.S.-led coalition airstrikes supported the offensive, which has been dubbed "Operation Free Sinjar."
The town was overrun by DAESH as they rampaged through Iraq in August 2014, leading to the killing, enslavement and fleeing of thousands of people from the minority Yazidi community.
