Hashd Al-Shaabi Forces will pose threat to security of Sinjar: Mayor

Sinjar (BasNews) A large number of Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces have been deployed near the Yezid majority region of Sinjar, which according to the Yezidi officials, will pose a potential threat to the region in the long run.

Mahma Khalil, Mayor of Sinjar, told BasNews “Large numbers of Hashd al-Shaabi forces have been stationed near Sinjar which in the future will pose a threat to the stability of the district, because if they will create tensions if they refuse to withdraw.”

The official called for the withdrawal of the militia forces, explaining that the number of the forces deployed in the area is quite larger than the number they had declared.

The Yezidi official argued that there are good relations between Hashd al-Shaabi and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) forces in Sinjar therefore they may collaborate with each each other to cause damage to the administration of the region.

Yezidi Lashish Cultural and Social Center said on Wednesday in a statement that they refuse the involvement of Yezidis in regional conflicts and called on the Peshmerga to liberate the southern areas in Sinjar which Hashd al-Shaabi has launched operations to liberate from the Islamic State (IS).

Lalish’s statement asks Hashd al-Shaabi to refrain from entering the Yezidi villages and compounds in southern Sinjar, and leave the task to the Peshmerga forces and the Sinjar Command Forces.

“What is happening in Southern Sinjar is not a local battle or simple conflict over normal areas, but rather a complex regional battle behind which lies the regional wills having their agendas and interests,” said the statement.