Source: Iraqi army declares "full control” over Sinjar to Syrian border

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the West Nineveh Operational Command (NOC) announced that Iraqi forces have taken control of the Sinjar district and Al-Jazira regions in Nineveh, extending to the border with Syria.

Brigadier General Ali Fadhil Imran, NOC commander, told Shafaq News Agency, "Iraqi forces have imposed full control over the Sinjar district and adjacent areas extending toward Syria, such as Al-Ba'aj andAl-Hadar."

Imran noted, "The Iraqi army, police, border guards, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully in control of the 265-kilometer border strip with Syria within Nineveh Governorate."

He further emphasized that “security conditions in Sinjar have significantly improved, leading to the return of over 11,000 families to the district and its villages, thanks to this increasing stability.”

Notably, the Sinjar district has witnessed extreme violence in recent years, culminating in the rule of the Islamic State (ISIS), which resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and forced many more to flee. As a result, 280,000 Yezidis are currently living as internally displaced persons in camps in a neighboring governorate.

Instability in this tiny district, on the border with Syria and Turkiye, continues to exacerbate conflicts in the Middle East. The area's remote location and its mountainous topography have enabled armed groups to gain authority and access secure transit routes that connect conflicts in Iraq, Türkiye, Syria, and Lebanon.