KDP pushes for resolution of Sinjar leadership dispute
Shafaq News- Nineveh
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) called on Thursday for the selection of a new Sinjar district administrator through the Nineveh Provincial Council, warning against attempts to inflame public tensions or claim exclusive representation of the Yazidi community.
Ahmed Al-Kiki, head of the KDP bloc in the council, told Shafaq News that opening nominations was necessary to resolve the administrative deadlock.
Al-Kiki questioned how one person could claim to represent all Yazidis or the largest political bloc, saying the community numbered between 600,000 and 700,000 people and could not be represented solely on the basis of tens of thousands of votes. “The council is not under anyone's control,” he said, stressing that the decision belonged to its members and representatives of the various communities, including Yazidi quota representatives and KDP lawmakers.
He criticized those who complained about the absence of a district administrator while opposing the nomination process, calling for a qualified candidate capable of overseeing Sinjar's reconstruction and the return of displaced residents.
Sinjar remains contested between Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), while rival political factions and armed groups, including Yazidi forces linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have competed for influence in the district.
The dispute intensified after ISIS seized Sinjar in 2014, killing and abducting thousands of Yazidis and displacing much of the community. Despite the group's defeat, competing security and administrative structures have complicated reconstruction and the return of displaced families.
A 2020 agreement between Baghdad and Erbil called for appointing an independent district administrator, reorganizing local security and removing unauthorized armed groups. However, the agreement remains only partly implemented, leaving control over Sinjar's administration and security unresolved.
