A delegation of the United Nations’ Nineveh office held meetings with Autonomous Administration of Sinjar officials in Sinjar in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Autonomous Administration of Sinjar representatives hosted the UN delegation to discuss the the ‘agreement’ that had been signed between the Iraq government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on 9 October.
The agreement sought to remove the local public security and defence forces known as the “Yazidi Asayish” and replace them with a deployment of more than 8,000 soldiers in Sinjar instead. Tensions in the region soared after this attempt to remove the Yazidi Asayish forces.
The Sinjar Democratic Autonomous Assembly (MXSD) reacted against the ‘agreement’ in this context even as local citizens launched a protest vigil against both the agreement and the removal of Yazidi Asayish forces.
The UN delegation was led by Zuhira El Taburi and it also held meetings with the Yazidi Women’s Freedom Movement’s (TAJE’s) representatives. Faris Herbo, the Foreign Affairs representative of the Autonomous Administration of Sinjar and Neam Bedel, spokesperson of the TAJE spoke to ANF about the nature of the meetings.
Herbo stated that they have had three meetings with UN representatives in Sinjar to date. “This time, they sent us an invitation to meet. We have discussed the recent situation of Sinjar and the situation of the locals. We have also discussed the alliance against Sinjar”, he said.
Herbo added: “Our stance against such alliances is clear. We have repeated our stance once more. Before these attempts, there were no problems in Sinjar. But after some forces formed an alliance against us, we have experienced many problems”.
Herbo stated that the Autonomous Administration of Sinjar does not recognise the so-called ‘Sinjar Agreement’. “We reject this ‘agreement’. This agreement does not serve or benefit the people of Sinjar”, he said. TAJE’s spokesperson Neam Bedel stated that they discussed with the UN representatives the solution ‘alternatives for Sinjar’, mainly addressing women’s issues and concerns.
“We have talked about how to find solutions for the women’s issues, on how to liberate the women and how to make them stand up for themselves”, she said.