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Iraqi Army Reclaims Sinjar from Pro-PKK Groups

The Iraqi military delegation arrives in Sinjar. (INA)
The Iraqi military delegation arrives in Sinjar. (INA)
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Iraqi Army Reclaims Sinjar from Pro-PKK Groups

The Iraqi military delegation arrives in Sinjar. (INA)
The Iraqi military delegation arrives in Sinjar. (INA)

The Iraqi military reestablished control of the northwestern region of Sinjar on Tuesday, said the Joint Operations Command (JOC) in a statement.

Sinjar had witnessed intense fighting on Monday between the Iraqi army and the Yazidi Resistance Forces (YBS), a group with ties to the Turkish insurgent Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).

An Iraqi soldier was killed and two others were injured in the fighting. Dozens of Yazidi fighters were also killed.

On Tuesday, a high-level security delegation arrived in the district to inspect the military units and ensure that security is being imposed.

It was headed by Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, First Lieutenant General Abdul Amir al-Shamari and Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah.

“We imposed security and law and opened all roads. There was no damage to civilian facilities, nor to civilians,” said al-Shamari.

Sinjar is the site of frequent clashes between security forces and local fighters affiliated with the PKK, which Turkey views as a terrorist organization.

The two sides traded accusations of having ignited the latest fighting, which broke out Sunday.

"We will not allow any outlaw force to be present in Sinjar,” said spokesman for the JOC, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji.

He noted that some parties tried to hinder the implementation of the Sinjar agreement.

In October 2020, Baghdad and the Kurdistan government signed an agreement to jointly manage Sinjar to restore the state’s hold over the patchwork of factions and competing authorities in the area after the defeat of ISIS. But this has proven largely unsuccessful.

“The Iraqi army is the only eligible party to manage Sinjar,” al-Khafaji said, adding that the west Nineveh Operations Command is responsible for this issue.

Following Monday’s clashes, at least 700 families fled Sinjar and its surrounding areas and headed farther north toward the semi-autonomous Kurdish region to seek asylum.

The tensions in Sinjar date back to months when pro-PKK groups refused to implement the Iraqi government's order to evacuate the province of all armed forces.

There are currently two local governments for Sinjar, one of which was appointed by the federal government in Baghdad, and the second is the elected government, which is running its business from the Duhok governorate.

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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.