The Iraqi army continues its plans on the siege of Shengal (Sinjar), which consists of a mainly Yazidi population that faced a massacre by ISIS in 2014.
The Iraqi government is pulling wires and building walls along the border. For the last month, the Iraqi army has increased its activities around Shengal and on the border with northeast Syria, the region governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, reported by Mesopotamia News Agency.
Fences to seperate regions
The fences in question are not only built in border areas. Under the Iraqi army’s plan, the fences would be laid 5 kilometres from the border, from the Mediban line to a Qasim village in the Sinuni district. Xanesor and Sinuni are approached when entering 5 kilometres from the borderline in Shengal.
New bases
According to local sources, the Iraqi army has built about ten bases in the Arab region near the border, and the Iraqi army’s activity in the region has also increased. Meanwhile, the construction of the wall between northeast Syria and Shengal is also underway.
The Iraqi army’s 18th Iraqi Border Guard Brigade has been building a 250-kilometre wall between northeast Syria and Shengal.
The wall is estimated to be 3 meters high and 75 centimetres wide. The 18th Brigade is reportedly affiliated with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi.
Last Thursday, Sinjar Autonomous Council Co-Chair Xezal Reşo called attention to the potential threats of a high concrete wall that has begun to be built on the Sinjar-Rojava border.
She reminded us that Yazidi people had escaped a massacre in 2014 when ISIS attacked Sinjar and the Yazidis by fleeing through the Rojava border.
“Now those borders are being closed completely. This is a threat for all residents and first of all for the Yezidi people. Again there are attempts to disconnect the Yezidi and Arab people.”
