Armed groups block Sinjaris from returning home, official says

Shafaq News/ More than 300,000 displaced from Sinjar, Nineveh province, residents remain unable to return home due to the presence of unauthorized armed groups, a senior Kurdish official said Tuesday.

The Director General of the Joint Crisis Coordination Center, Srwa Rasul, stated in a press conference that “Kurdistan Region has hosted two million displaced persons and refugees since 2014, despite facing an ongoing financial,” noting that around one million displaced individuals remain in the region, underscoring the challenges in providing for them.

She explained that the root causes of displacement persist, preventing many from returning, “among them, 350,000 displaced Sinjaris remain in camps in the Kurdistan Region because the federal government has not resolved the issue of PKK forces and unauthorized armed groups in their areas.”

Highlighting broader challenges facing displaced Iraqis, including security clearance procedures, Rasul pointed out that while joint committees between Baghdad and Erbil have been established, no tangible progress has been made on the ground. She further expressed hope that displaced Iraqis could return without demographic changes affecting their home regions.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS attacked Sinjar, killing, injuring, and displacing thousands of Yazidis before Peshmerga forces reclaimed the area in 2015. In October 2020, Baghdad and Erbil signed the Sinjar Agreement to restore stability, focusing on security, governance, and reconstruction.

The deal mandates disarming non-state armed groups, deploying federal forces, and forming a new local administration. However, implementation faces hurdles due to political tensions, security threats, and damaged infrastructure. Multiple armed factions, including the YBS, Iraqi army, police, PMF, and Ezidkhan Protection Forces, remain active, complicating efforts to ensure displaced residents' safe return.