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On 17th of August, a hospital near the Sikêniyê village in Sinjar (Shengal) of Iraqi Kurdistan has been reportedly hit by Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) in which several people died and wounded. The attack on 17 August followed an earlier strike on 16th of August, which targeted the passengers of a vehicle near a market in Sinjar where 2 people died including a senior commander of the Sinjar Defence Units (YBS) Seid Hesen.
As the medical centre was totally destroyed by the missile strikes, the Sinjar Democratic Autonomous Council issued a written statement regarding both of the attacks and announced that 8 people had died, 4 of the 8 were health workers and 4 were Sinjar Defence Units (YBS) fighters in the attack against the hospital. 4 people also got injured in the attack the Council stated, ANHA reported.
In its statement Sinjar Democratic Autonomous Council also drew attention to the previous attack in which the YPS fighter Seid Hesen lost his life.
The Council noted that Hesen was not only a commander but also an important actor for the political solution of the problem of Sinjar.
“As is known, our friend Seid Hesen is both a valued commander and was doing valuable work in the political and diplomatic sphere to solve the Sinjar problem. He had previously met with the Iraqi government delegation and had done lots of efforts to secure Sinjar’s autonomy.”
The Council stated that on the day Seid Hesen was murdered was the day that he was going to meet with Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the Iraqi Prime Minister, to talk about Sinjar.
“On 16 August, Martyr Seid was preparing to meet with Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on behalf of the Autonomous Council. In such a process, he and his friends were targeted and martyred. The attack took place in front of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. He was in Sinjar as Prime Minister of Iraq on that day.”
The council criticised the fact that not one official statement has been made by the Iraqi Government yet regarding the attack.
“Neither President Kadhimi nor the Iraqi government has commented on the attack. Instead Kadhimi said that they would improve their relations with the Turkish state.” the statement said.
In its statement the Sinjar Democratic Autonomous Council also mentioned the Sinjar Agreement which has been signed on 9 October, 2020, regarding the future of Sinjar. The deal was signed between the Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan Governments and includes the deployment of more than 8,000 soldiers to Sinjar as well as the removal of the Yazidi Asayish Centres (Yazidi public security forces) formed by the local residents.
The people of Sinjar have reacted to the deal and held various protests against it for months. The deal is also widely criticised for Turkey being behind it.
The Council recalled the statements of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Al Kadhimi in this respect.
“On the day that attack happened, Al Kadhimi put forward the 9 of October deal onto the agenda. He stated that they want the deal to be realized.”
Finally, the Council underlined that the silence of both Iraqi Government and the United Nations is completely unacceptable.
“The Iraqi government, which has remained silent on the attacks of the invading Turkish state, is also a partner in these attacks as long as it remains silent. Since the 9 October agreement, the Turkish state has carried out attacks whenever Iraqi government officials visit Sinjar. Interestingly, neither the Prime Minister nor the government has made any statements.” it continued:
” We ask this; Why is the Iraqi government silent? What is the role of the Iraqi government in this attack. So far, the Iraqi parliament, Iraqi political parties and religious parties have made no statements…We would like to ask the United Nations Representative; a massacre has happened in front of your eyes. According to your agreement, this is a crime against humanity. Why is your representative office, which has repeatedly made statements against Sinjar, now silent about these attacks?”
