Shafaq News- Nineveh (Updated at 20:47)

Haidar Shesho, commander of Peshmerga forces in Sinjar, said on Tuesday that his forces were not party to Monday's agreement integrating the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) into Iraq's federal security forces, stressing that any deal on the district must serve its residents, enable the displaced to return and protect people without bloodshed.

The military coordination arrangements were agreed between the Iraqi government, the Defense Ministry, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its Peshmerga Ministry, Shesho told Shafaq News. “Our forces took no part in the negotiations, and we do not know to what extent the Peshmerga Ministry was involved.”

With Peshmerga and Iraqi army positions overlapping in several areas, Shesho said his forces had no wish to endanger the army, and securing the border and other troubled areas requires coordination between the two.

The deal could benefit Sinjar if it brings stability and Baghdad takes responsibility for protecting residents, who have endured about 12 years of instability and displacement, he said, adding that no security or administrative arrangement should be imposed on them without their participation.

Shesho called for a competent administrator for Sinjar and Sinuni, chosen on merit rather than party quotas. He urged Baghdad and the KRG to make clear decisions on the district's administration and to support the Sinjar Peshmerga so they can operate officially and in coordination with the Iraqi government, describing agreement between Baghdad and Erbil as key to the district's stability and the return of its displaced residents.

Under Monday's deal, the YBŞ, an armed Yazidi group linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and the Sinjar Women's Units agreed to end their independent military status and join federal forces, bringing 4,165 fighters under state control, according to the group. Federal authorities also took over security responsibility on Mount Sinjar. As of Tuesday evening, the KRG had issued no statement welcoming the deal, and no KRG representative took part in Monday’s ceremony on the mountain.

The move broadly aligns with security provisions of the Sinjar Agreement, signed by Baghdad and Erbil under UN auspices on Oct. 9, 2020, which requires unofficial armed groups to leave the district. Its administrative provisions remain stalled, notably over the choice of an independent district mayor acceptable to all sides.

Read more: YBŞ deal secures Sinjar’s mountain, leaves its administration unresolved