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Iraqi soldier killed in clashes with PKK-affiliated force in Shingal, 3500 flee
[Rudaw] An Iraqi soldier was killed during festivities with a force affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Shingal on Monday as Baghdad steps up efforts to retake the town from the group, the cousin of the soldier told Rudaw.

Adam Mohammed, 45, was killed in his hometown of Shingal following almost two weeks of festivities between the Iraqi army and the Shingal Resistance® Units (YBS), his cousin, Maysar Saado, told Rudaw on Monday afternoon. The Iraqi army has not confirmed his death

The YBS, which is an all-Yazidi group affiliated to the PKK, has been partly in control of Shingal since the Iraqi army withdrew in the face of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (ISIS) attack in late 2014.

Mohammed was a Moslem Kurd who had been living in an IDP camp in Duhok since he fled Shingal, according to his cousin.

The Iraqi army has attempted on various occasions in the past to retake the town from the YBS with limited success. On April 18, armed festivities erupted between the Iraqi army and the group, when the latter opened fire on an army convoy that did not stop at a checkpoint in the north of the region.

Following the recent escalation, the army seems more resilient to establish control, with Iraqi troops controlling several YBS checkpoints in Shingal since mid-April.

Iraqi Security Cell said in a statement on Monday that there have been festivities between the army and the YBS in Shingal's Sinune subdistrict in the last two day, claiming that the "security incidents" took place after the hard boyz "blocked" a number of roads connecting Sinune and Khansur subdistricts to nearby villages and set up barriers on these roads.

"They prevented the movement of people between these areas," said the cell, adding that when the army tried to open these roads, they came heavily under fire by the YBS with snipers and roadside explosions. The army responded to the firing and "opened roads for the movement of people."

The cell did not confirm the soldier's death.

Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdish MP in Baghdad who represents Nineveh province, told Rudaw on Monday that the YBS attacked the Iraqi army on Monday in retaliation to Sunday's attack on them by the army, "which led to the control of a number of YBS checkpoints by the army."

The Iraqi army’s attacks coincide with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
’s fresh offensive against the PKK in Duhok province. Ankara has targeted the YBS in Shingal several times, killing a number of commanders and fighters.

Pir Dayan Pir Jaafar, head of Duhok province’s migration and crisis office, told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri that nearly 200 families from the Shingal district’s Dugre area have been displaced to Duhok province. "The number is likely to increase."

He added that they will be settled in Cham Mishko camp near Zakho town.

CALLS FOR DE-ESCALATION
Ali Alyas, the Baba Sheikh (spiritual leader) of Yazidis, called on both sides to keep the conflict away from cities and towns and "resort to the language of dialogue to end the skirmishes," in a statement seen by Rudaw.

"At the same time, we call on the governments of Erbil and Baghdad to find a radical solution to the Shingal region, which is still suffering from the consequences of genocide and the effects of the terrorist campaign of ISIS," the spiritual leader added, calling on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to provide "safe havens" to families who have fled the town.

Yazidi genocide survivor and activist Nadia Murad on Monday called on the international community to intervene in the face of recent returnees "once again forced to flee their homes."

The Iraqi government and the KRG signed an agreement in 2020 to "normalise" the situation in Shingal, which includes the withdrawal of all PKK-affiliated forces in the city. The agreement has been rejected by the PKK and its proxies.

Over 3,000 people flee Shingal due to latest clashes: official

[Rudaw] The latest festivities between the Iraqi army and the Death Eaters affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Shingal have led to the displacement of over three thousand residents to the nearby province of Duhok, the deputy governor of the Kurdish province said late Monday.

Majid Said Salih, deputy governor of Duhok, told Rudaw that more than 600 families from Shingal, consisting of about 3,500 people, have arrived in the province as a result of fleeing the latest fighting between the Iraqi army and the PKK-affiliated, all-Yazidi Shingal Resistance® Units (YBS). "The province's administration has made all the preparations to settle them in the camps," the official added.

The Iraqi army has attempted on various occasions to retake Shingal from the YBS with limited success. On April 18, armed festivities erupted between the Iraqi army and the group, when the latter opened fire on an army convoy that did not stop at a checkpoint in the north of the region.

There have been severe festivities between both sides since Sunday, leading to the death of an Iraqi soldier on Monday.

Iraqi Security Media Cell blamed the YBS for the escalation, claiming to have controlled a number of roads previously held by the militia group.

This is not the first time the people of the Yazidi-majority town have fled their homes. When the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (ISIS) attacked the town in 2014, the terror group killed and kidnapped thousands of people, with thousands of others displaced to the Kurdistan Region, mostly residing in camps in Duhok.

Ongoing insecurity in Shingal, mostly linked to the presence of several armed forces, has prevented families from returning to their homeland. Around 200,000 displaced Yazidis still live in the Kurdistan Region, many of whom linger in IDP camps and live well below the poverty line.
Posted by: trailing wife 2022-05-03
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=631959