Shafaq News- Nineveh
More than 4,000 fighters of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ), men and women, have joined Iraq's federal security forces, the group's representative Haji Terash announced on Monday, declaring an end to the Yazidi armed group's military role.
Speaking at a ceremony in Mount Sinjar attended by Iraqi officials, Terash said the decision to give up the YBŞ's status as an armed faction “honors the victims of the Yazidi genocide and strengthens Iraq's sovereignty and stability.”
Arms Under State Control
Taking up arms had been a temporary necessity to defend the land, said Lt. Gen. Saad Harbiya, who represented Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the ceremony, “but weapons must now be held within the bounds of the law and the constitution.”
He said Baghdad remains committed to compensating the families of those killed and others affected, he said, and to rebuilding the district with Nineveh's local government.
Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil said the province is drawing up a comprehensive plan to rebuild Sinjar and allow displaced residents to return voluntarily and safely, warning that security will remain incomplete without reconstruction and basic services.
A Contested Force
The YBŞ was formed in 2014, when ISIS overran Sinjar, killing and enslaving thousands of Yazidis. Made up of Yazidi volunteers who defended civilians trapped on the mountain, it was trained and supported by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
The group has since been at the center of regional tensions. Turkiye has repeatedly struck YBŞ positions over its PKK links, while the Kurdistan Regional Government has opposed its presence and pressed for the 2020 Sinjar Agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, which requires unofficial armed groups to leave and hands security to federal and local police and the National Security Service.
In September, Iraq pledged to Turkiye to fully extend state authority in Sinjar, as part of a deal under which Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan camp near Mosul.