Sinjar agreement not implemented yet, KRG PM Barzani says
An aerial picture shows mourners carrying coffins wrapped in the Iraqi flag in a procession during a mass funeral for Yazidi victims of Daesh in the northern Iraqi village of Kojo in Sinjar district, on Feb. 6, 2021. (AFP Photo)


The Sinjar agreement, announced by Baghdad and Irbil on Oct. 9, 2019, and aimed at solving all security, governance and service provision issues in Iraq's northern Sinjar region, has not been implemented yet, Prime Minister of northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masrour Barzani stated on Wednesday.

"The Sinjar Agreement has not been implemented in accordance with the terms. Forces that were supposed to withdraw remain in the area. We remain committed and call for the full implementation of the agreement," Barzani wrote on Twitter.

The prime minister also stated that Iraq needs coalition presence and support to fight the threat of Daesh, which "remains a real threat and continues to stage attacks against security forces."

In the normalization process aimed to achieve the implementation of the Sinjar deal, security arrangements will be implemented in line with the deal such as booting out armed groups, including the PKK terrorist organization, its affiliates and Iran-backed militias. Through the establishment of security and the removal of armed groups, it is expected that the displaced Yazidi community, which suffered genocidal attacks by Daesh when the group took control of significant swathes of the region, can finally return.

Meanwhile, the executive manager of Sulaimani’s emergency service told Rudaw that one terrorist of the PKK’s Syrian wing the YPG was killed and five others injured in a clash with several Peshmerga commando forces at Sulaimani’s Tasluja checkpoint on Kirkuk Road.

Last month, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, following his visit to Iraq, stated that Turkey is closely following the developments in Sinjar, stressing that Ankara is ready to provide assistance in clearing terrorists from the region.

The PKK terrorist group managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Yazidi community from Daesh terrorists.

Turkey has long stressed that it will not tolerate threats posed to its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps are not taken, it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats, particularly in Sinjar.