Latest news with #ShingalAgreement
Rudaw Net
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
EU remembers Yazidi ‘tragedy,' urges action to support return of displaced
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The European Union on Sunday marked the 11th anniversary of the Yazidi 'tragedy,' calling for justice and better living conditions for displaced members of the community. The commemoration comes in memory of the brutal campaign launched by the Islamic State (ISIS) against the ethnoreligious minority in 2014. In a statement, the EU emphasized the 'importance of accountability for crimes committed by [ISIS] Da'esh against all victims of their terror,' including the Yazidi community. 'We welcome all actions by Iraqi authorities and international efforts to support this accountability,' the statement read. ISIS captured large parts of northern and western Iraq in mid-2014. In August of that year, the group launched a genocidal assault on the Yazidi community in the Shingal (Sinjar) region. An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Yazidi men and elderly women were killed, while between 6,000 and 7,000 women and girls were abducted and subjected to sexual slavery and human trafficking. Around 400,000 Yazidis fled, with the majority taking refuge in the Kurdistan Region. The United Nations has officially recognized the campaign as genocide. Despite Iraq's formal declaration of victory over ISIS in 2017, more than 21,000 Yazidi families remain in displacement camps, primarily in the Kurdistan Region's northern Duhok province. Their return is chiefly hindered by unresolved security concerns and the continued presence of various armed groups in Shingal. For its part, the EU reaffirmed its support for 'Iraq's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,' and emphasized the importance of protecting the country's ethnic and religious diversity, 'of which the Yazidi community is an integral part.' It further added that despite efforts by the Iraqi government, the Yazidi community 'continues to face obstacles preventing them from returning to their homes,' particularly in their ancestral heartland, Shingal. The Yazidis are impeded by 'security concerns and limited access to basic social services,' the EU noted. The EU also urged Baghdad and Erbil to implement the Sinjar Agreement, signed in October 2020 with the backing of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The agreement aims to remove non-state armed groups from Sinjar, restore stability, and reestablish local governance. However, nearly five years on, the deal remains unimplemented. Earlier on Sunday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani called on Baghdad to shoulder full responsibility for the Yazidi heartland's security and development and 'no longer allow Shingal and Yazidi areas to become arenas for militia tensions and armed groups.' 'We stress the importance of implementing the agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government to normalize conditions in Shingal,' President Barzani said, referencing the Shingal Agreement.
Rudaw Net
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraq urges increased international recognition of Yazidi genocide
Also in Iraq Yazidi commander says hand Shingal security over to Peshmerga Suspected Anfal executioner had plastic surgery to avoid detection Water level plummets in Iraq's largest dam Amnesty urges Iraq's parliament to reject controversial free speech bill A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's foreign ministry on Sunday called for increased international cooperation to rescue Yazidis in captivity, urging greater recognition for the Yazidi genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS) on its 11th anniversary. In a statement, the ministry called on 'countries to recognize the crimes committed against the Yazidis and other communities as genocide,' urging the need for 'international cooperation to rescue the abducted and to strengthen joint work with governments and international organizations to prevent the reoccurrence of such crimes.' Baghdad further condemned the genocide, stressing that it remains committed to 'achieving justice, international recognition of the genocide, and moving forward on the path of recovery.' ISIS launched a brutal offensive across swathes of northern and western Iraq in June 2014. By August, the group began its onslaught on the Yazidi community in their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, killing an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Yazidi men and older women. The jihadists also abducted some 7,000 women and girls for sexual slavery and human trafficking. Around 400,000 Yazidis were forced to flee, with most seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region, according to data from the Office for Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, operating under the Kurdistan Region Presidency. The Yazidis were subjected to heinous atrocities under ISIS's brutal rule, including mass killings. The jihadists brought destruction to many villages and towns populated by the community and committed genocide. The United Nations and several Western countries have recognized ISIS's crimes against the Yazidis as genocide. In 2020, the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed the Shingal Agreement to restore governance, security, and stability to the district and resolve a number of issues that have prevented the return of its inhabitants. Under that deal, Baghdad was to assume responsibility for security, expelling all armed groups and establishing a new armed force recruited from the local population. The agreement has never been fully implemented and thousands of Yazidis are still unable to return home. On Sunday, the Kurdistan Region's leaders renewed calls for the agreement to be implemented.
Rudaw Net
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kurdish leaders commemorate Yazidi genocide on 11th anniversary
Also in Kurdistan Iraqi committee visits Kurdistan Region to probe drone attacks Diverse Kurdish voices centre stage at Erbil citadel concert Erbil air is cleaner as private generators phase out, says environment board Heat kills hundreds of bees in Akre A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's leaders commemorated the 11th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday, urging Baghdad to implement a key 2020 agreement with Erbil aimed at restoring normalcy to the Yazidi heartland of Shingal (Sinjar). 'It is the Iraqi government's responsibility to better care for its Yazidi citizens and compensate them, and no longer allow Shingal and Yazidi areas to become arenas for militia tensions and armed groups,' President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement. He reiterated the Kurdistan Region's 'full support' to the ethnoreligious community, while lamenting that 'after eleven years, nearly half of the Yazidis still live in difficult economic, social, and psychological conditions in camps.' ISIS launched a brutal offensive across swathes of northern and western Iraq in June 2014. By August, the group began its onslaught on the Yazidi community in their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, killing an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Yazidi men and older women. The jihadists also abducted some 7,000 women and girls for sexual slavery and human trafficking. Around 400,000 Yazidis were forced to flee, with most seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region, according to data from the Office for Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, operating under the Kurdistan Region Presidency. The Yazidis were subjected to heinous atrocities under ISIS's brutal rule, including mass killings. The jihadists brought destruction to many villages and towns populated by the community and committed genocide. 'Trust, security, peace, safety, reconstruction, and services must be restored to Shingal and the other areas. Justice must be achieved for the Yazidi community and perpetrators must be punished,' President Barzani said, calling for the implementation of the Shingal Agreement. In 2020, the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed the Shingal Agreement to restore governance, security, and stability to the district and resolve a number of issues that have prevented the return of its inhabitants. Under that deal, Baghdad was to assume responsibility for security, expelling all armed groups and establishing a new armed force recruited from the local population. The agreement has never been fully implemented and thousands of Yazidis are still unable to return home. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also commemorated the genocide, reiterating that Baghdad must compensate the Yazidi victims. 'We reiterate that the federal government must fulfill its duties and responsibilities, compensate our Yazidi brothers and sisters, help the displaced, and create conditions for their dignified return to their areas,' he said, stressing that the Shingal Agreement must be implemented and armed groups must withdraw from the district. Political disputes over the region between Baghdad and Erbil, as well as the presence of armed groups like the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have disrupted the reconstruction of the city that suffered heavy destruction during the war against ISIS. 'Due to the non-implementation of the Shingal Agreement and the undesirable situation imposed on Shingal after its liberation, it has not been possible to reconstruct and provide necessary services to the people of that region,' the prime minister added. He asserted that the KRG remains hard at work to find and return Yazidis remaining in captivity. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani described ISIS's crimes against the Yazidis as 'exceeding all boundaries of cruelty and brutality,' stressing that the Kurdistan Region's citizens and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stand in full solidarity with the Yazidi community. 'The Iraqi state must compensate the victims of the Shingal catastrophe and all genocides committed against the people of Kurdistan. There must be an end to these chauvinistic thoughts and behaviors,' he said in a statement. International actors, such as the United Nations and the United States, have repeatedly called on Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to implement the Shingal Agreement and 'break the political deadlock' in the city. Although Iraq declared the full liberation of its territory from ISIS in 2017, around 21,000 Yazidi families remain displaced, primarily in camps in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province.
Rudaw Net
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Yazidi commander says hand Shingal security over to Peshmerga
Also in Iraq Suspected Anfal executioner had plastic surgery to avoid detection Water level plummets in Iraq's largest dam Amnesty urges Iraq's parliament to reject controversial free speech bill Iraqi parliament to vote on controversial protest bill A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Yazidi commander on Friday called for Kurdish Peshmerga forces to be put in charge of security in the Yazidi-majority Shingal (Sinjar) district of northern Iraq where multiple armed groups and forces operate, impeding the return of thousands of residents who fled when the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked 11 years ago. 'Until Shingal's security file is handed over to the Peshmerga, the multiple forces and security problems will continue and the displaced will not trust to return to their homeland, and life in Shingal will not normalize,' Haider Shasho, commander of the Ezidikhan Protection Forces that are a Yazidi division within the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga Ministry, told Rudaw. In 2020, the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed the Shingal Agreement to restore governance, security, and stability to the district and resolve a number of issues that have prevented the return of its inhabitants. Under that deal, Baghdad was to assume responsibility for security, expelling all armed groups and establishing a new armed force recruited from the local population. The agreement has never been fully implemented and thousands of Yazidis are still unable to return home. 'There are many conspiracies against Shingal and there are political parties in Iraq conspiring against Shingal. That's why the Shingal Agreement has not been implemented until now and the crisis and problems of the district remain ongoing,' Shasho said, calling on international actors to intervene and exert pressure on Baghdad to implement the deal. Shingal is part of the disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil. The areas stretch across several provinces, including Nineveh, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which remains unimplemented, provides a process for the KRG and the federal government to settle their disputes. 'We wish that if Shingal's security file is not handed over to the Peshmerga, at least those Peshmerga who are Yazidis should have their duties transferred to Shingal,' Shasho suggested, explaining that 'would provide important psychological assistance' to the Yazidis, 'most of whom are displaced and living in camps.' The Yazidis are an ethnoreligious group in northern Iraq that were subjected to countless heinous atrocities, including forced marriages, sexual violence, and massacres when ISIS captured the city in 2014, bringing destruction to many villages and towns populated by the minority group and committing genocide. They were forced to flee to displacement camps, mainly in the Kurdistan Region. Political disputes over the region between Baghdad and Erbil, as well as the presence of armed groups like the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have disrupted reconstruction of the city that suffered heavy destruction during the war against ISIS. International actors, such as the United Nations and the United States, have repeatedly called on Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to implement the agreement and 'break the political deadlock' in the city. Shasho said the PKK forces in Shingal 'should also lay down their arms' after the group dissolved itself and announced it was ending its decades-long armed conflict with Turkey. 'While the PKK is recognized as a banned organization in Iraq and has now dissolved itself, its armed members continue in Shingal and the Iraqi government supports them,' Shasho claimed. The Yazidi Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) and Ezidkhan Asayish were formed by the PKK to oust ISIS. They control parts of the district. The PKK and its proxies have rejected the Shingal Agreement. Nwenar Fatih contributed to this report.
Rudaw Net
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraqi PM approves Kurdish farmers' demands in Sargaran: Farmers spox
Also in Iraq Kurdish military judge warns against 'desertion' of Yazidi Peshmerga fighters Iran cuts Diyala province electricity: Local official Iraq introduces electronic entry visas for select nations Disarming PKK could ease implementation of Shingal Agreement: Yazidi commander A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Sunday addressed land disputes in the Sargaran subdistrict northwest of Kirkuk, approving solutions that allow Kurdish farmers to cultivate their lands, which had previously been confiscated, a representative of the Sargaran farmers told Rudaw. The decision reportedly comes after farmers 'presented a range of possible solutions to address the ongoing [land] disputes,' Mohammed Amin said, adding that Sudani approved their demands. Tensions in Sargaran escalated in mid-February when Iraqi security forces forcefully barred Kurdish farmers from accessing their lands, which had been seized during the Baath era and given to Arab settlers. The move was seemingly geared to alter the demographic makeup in disputed regions, namely oil-rich Kirkuk. Raw footage from the incident, filmed by Rudaw, showed Iraqi army and anti-riot forces clashing with civilians from Sargaran's Shanagha village as they tried to enter their farmland. The video, which has since gone viral, also depicted an Iraqi security officer trying to forcibly remove Amin from his tractor. The crackdown on farmers drew sharp reactions from officials in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, prompting Sudani to task a special committee with probing the incident. On Sunday, Iraqi Justice Minister Khalid Shwani received Amin and informed him that Sudani endorsed the recommendations of the special committee. 'Our issues have been resolved and we can start cultivating our lands,' Amin told Rudaw after the meeting. The Iraqi presidency in mid-February ratified the land restitution law aimed at returning lands confiscated under the Baath regime to their original owners. The law pertains to 300,000 dunams of land belonging to Kurdish and Turkmen owners in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. The Sargaran subdistrict includes 42 villages, five of which are at the center of the dispute. These villages are Shanagha, Pelkana, Sarbashakh, Gabaraka, and Kharaba. Iraq's Second Deputy of the Parliament Speaker, Shakhawan Abdullah, confirmed to Rudaw in mid-February that following the presidency's ratification, the land restitution law is set to be implemented imminently as 'there are no longer any obstacles to its implementation.'
