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.



Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League urged on Saturday the UN Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to stop its assaut against the Palestinian people and to ensure that it provides all humanitarian assistance needed by the people in Gaza Strip.

In a statement marking the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Arab League urged Britain and all the other countries that did not recognize the Palestinian state to take this step in support of peace in line with the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the only way to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The Balfour Declaration continues to be a profound wound in the human conscience due to the Nakba that the Palestinian people have experienced and the ongoing deprivation of their legitimate and inalienable rights to freedom and independence. This refers to the Israeli occupation's violations and practices, settlement and Judaization, annexation and siege, the destruction of the Palestinian people's livelihoods, and the desecration of their religious shrines," the Arab League statement said.

It stressed that Israel's continued crimes and violations are a reflection of the international community's inability to fulfil its obligations and assume its responsibilities in resisting aggression and occupation, protecting the Palestinian people.

It must ask Israel to comply with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions in a manner that ends the occupation and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab League stressed that Israel continues to insist on expanding the area of its hostilities to include Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights despite the imminent danger of a regional war.

Moreover, the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA's work in the occupied Palestinian territories is an additional flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of the international will, and of all human values.

The aim of this step is to destroy generations of Palestinians for whom the UN agency represents a lifeline in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. It is imperative that Israel stop these crimes and protect the agency's work in accordance with its UN mandate.