The key facts

  • The YBS group in the Sinjar area will disarm and be integrated into Iraqi security structures
  • Responsibility for the security of Mount Sinjar will pass to federal authorities
  • Procedures began on Monday under the prime minister's supervision

Disarmament and integration into the army

A PKK-linked formation in Iraq's Sinjar district will disarm and be integrated into the Iraqi army under the supervision of the prime minister, an Iraqi official spokesperson said on Monday. According to the Anadolu Agency, citing the spokesperson, the group is known as the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) and is described as an offshoot of the PKK.

Statement by the prime minister's military spokesperson

Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister, stated, according to the Iraqi News Agency, that procedures to reorganize the military ties between the group and Iraqi security structures would be carried out on Monday. According to him, members of the formation will be integrated into Iraqi security institutions, and responsibility for the security of Mount Sinjar will pass to the relevant federal state bodies.

Context and significance of the step

Al-Numan added that this step is part of the Iraqi government's policy of bringing all weapons under state control, and that its implementation will mark the beginning of a new stage in the security system of the Sinjar district. He also noted that the Iraqi constitution prohibits the creation of armed formations outside the country's official armed forces. For the region, this means a practical change: an armed structure that operated outside the state framework is being brought under federal control, and the Mount Sinjar area is passing under the responsibility of the central authorities.