UPDATE – PKK-linked group in Iraq’s Sinjar to disarm, join Iraqi army
- Iraqi spokesman says move will transfer security responsibility for Sinjar Mountain to federal authorities as part of efforts to bring all weapons under state control
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- Iraqi spokesman says move will transfer security responsibility for Sinjar Mountain to federal authorities as part of efforts to bring all weapons under state control
UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Haydar Karaalp, Busra Nur Cakmak and Sahin Demir
BAGHDAD / ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - A PKK-linked group in Iraq’s Sinjar region will disarm and integrate into the Iraqi army under the supervision of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, an Iraqi spokesman said Monday.
The group, known as the Sinjar Resistance Units, or YBS, is an offshoot of the PKK terrorist organization.
Sabah al-Numan, military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said procedures to reorganize military ties between the group and Iraqi security forces would be carried out on Monday, according to a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
He said members of the group would be integrated into Iraqi security institutions.
The move would also transfer security responsibility for Sinjar Mountain to the relevant federal government authorities, al-Numan said.
He added that the step was part of the Iraqi government’s policy to bring all weapons under state control.
The implementation would mark the beginning of a new phase in security arrangements in the Sinjar district, he said.
Al-Numan also noted that the Iraqi Constitution prohibits the formation of armed groups outside the country’s official armed forces.
In a subsequent statement carried by INA, Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced the start of a ceremony marking the formal separation of the YBS from its previous military structure.
The cell said Iraqi security forces had taken control of key military positions in Sinjar, while additional sites were scheduled to be formally handed over later Monday.
It added that the integration process includes the group’s weapons and military positions.
Şahin Demir