Clashes between Iraqi Army and YBS again heat up in western Shingal
At least one Iraqi soldier was injured and there are unconfirmed reports that a second was killed.
Vehicles belonging to forces on both sides were burnt, Rudaw’s Tahsin Qasim reported from Shingal.
Tensions are high between the Iraqi Army and the Shingal Protection Units (YBS), a Yezidi force with ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The two sides clashed on Sunday night with each blaming the other for instigating the incident.
Representatives from the Iraqi Army and the YBS met in Hasawik village with the Iraqis telling the YBS to leave because they are an illegal armed force. The YBS refused and accused the army of hampering free movement between the Shingal area and Rojava, the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Syria.
The new clash erupted after their meeting failed. There are three Iraqi Army divisions stationed in the Shingal area, raising fears among the local population that the army is planning some activity.
Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament from Mosul, told Rudaw that smuggling of weapons, oil, and cigarettes in the Shingal region was adding to insecurity. He accused the PKK of being involved.
Haydar Shasho commands the Ezidikhan Protection Force and is not aligned with the Iraqi forces or the YBS. He confirmed the clashes to Rudaw English on Tuesday, but he could not provide casualty figures.
“The situation varies from place to place and village by village,” Shasho added, explaining that they all have different disputes and grievances.
He claimed that 80 percent of the people in Shingal don’t want a PKK or PKK-affiliated presence in Shingal.
“We understand that the situation in Shingal ends when the PKK leaves,” Shasho said.
He underscored that his forces are not involved in the recent events.
“Ezidikhan forces have not been involved in the clashes over the past days,” he said.
The YBS used to be on good terms with the Iraqi government who was paying salaries of their fighters in Shingal throughout part of the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS). That ended last year and previous Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on all foreign fighters to leave the country.
In Shingal various armed factions operate including the YBS, Hashd al-Shaabi, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga, local police and security, federal police, and provincial authorities.
Shingal is a disputed or Kurdistani are that is claimed by Erbil and Baghdad. Since the events of September 2017, Shingal officially has been in the security portfolio of the Iraq.