ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of people in Shingal blocked a main road on Friday, protesting the presence of the Iraqi army and a militia group affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in populated areas. They want only the Iraqi federal police to remain in these areas.
The Iraqi army has been attempting to re-control the Yazidi heartland of Shingal from the PKK-affiliated Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) since April 18. The YBS controlled parts of Shingal months after it was invaded by the Islamic State (ISIS) militants in summer 2014. Clashes between the army and the all-Yazidi force escalated on May 2 and the following day, leading to the death of a soldier and a militant.
Dozens of protesters have been calling for an end to the tensions in recent days. However, on Friday, they called for the withdrawal of both forces from the populated areas.
“If the Iraqi army wants to protect us by firing at our women and children, we do not want such a protection,” Salim Shingali, a protester, told Rudaw’s Yousif Rabih, adding that they thank the YBS for helping them when ISIS attacked “but if they want our goodness, they should keep distance from our women, children and houses.”
“Our people have fallen victim [to the conflict]. Every day, there is a temporary deal. There should be a permanent agreement to put an end to the miseries,” said a female protester, Najwa Hajji.
“No to death, yes to peaceful solution,” read a slogan held by a young woman.
The situation has been calm since late Tuesday but people fear that the tensions could escalate any minute.
The tensions have once again displaced Shingal residents to the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province. Hundreds of thousands of them were displaced to the Kurdistan Region when ISIS attacked the district.
Pir Dayan Pir Jaafar, the head of Duhok province's migration and crisis office, told Rudaw on Friday that 711 families, consisting of 10,261 people, have been displaced from Shingal to Duhok province since May 2.
The Iraqi government and the KRG signed an agreement in 2020 to “normalize” the situation in Shingal, which includes the withdrawal of all PKK-affiliated forces in the city. The agreement has been rejected by the PKK and its proxies.
