The Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) have agreed to integrate into Iraq's federal security forces and end their independent military status under a deal with Baghdad to bring their weapons under state control, the group said on Monday, according to Shafaq News. The agreement covers the YBŞ and the Sinjar Women's Units, which together comprise 4,165 fighters, according to the group's statement.

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum

More than 4,000 YBŞ fighters, men and women, have joined the federal forces, the group's representative Haji Terash announced at a ceremony on Mount Sinjar attended by Iraqi officials, Shafaq News reported. Terash said the decision to give up the YBŞ's status as an armed faction “honors the victims of the Yazidi genocide and strengthens Iraq's sovereignty and stability.”

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum

Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, confirmed that Baghdad would incorporate the YBŞ into state security institutions and transfer security responsibility on Mount Sinjar to federal authorities, Shafaq News reported. The government also pledged to uphold Yazidis' rights, compensate victims' families and fund the district's reconstruction. Lt. Gen. Saad Harbiya, who represented Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the ceremony, said taking up arms had been a temporary necessity to defend the land, “but weapons must now be held within the bounds of the law and the constitution.”

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum

Federal troops have taken the highest point on Mount Sinjar, and the Qalaa area and other positions were also due to be handed over, Bosphorus News reported, citing Iraq's Security Media Cell head Lt. Gen. Saad Maan; committees have been assigned to oversee the fighters' integration. Rudaw, citing a senior YBŞ commander, reported that about 2,000 fighters were expected to join in the first phase, and Yazidi lawmaker Murad Ismail said some could return to civilian life; Baghdad has not released a final breakdown of assignments to the army, police or Popular Mobilization Forces.

Source: Bosphorus News (Rudaw; Security Media Cell)

In its statement, the group said: “As ISIS seized large areas of Iraq, including parts of Nineveh province, local Yazidi fighters organized to defend Mount Sinjar, leading to the formation of the resistance units,” describing placing weapons under state control and unifying security decisions as “essential to preventing ISIS's return” and safeguarding stability across the country, Shafaq News reported. Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil said the province is drawing up a comprehensive plan to rebuild Sinjar and allow displaced residents to return voluntarily and safely, warning that security will remain incomplete without reconstruction and basic services. More than 110,000 Sinjar residents are still displaced after nearly 12 years, Shafaq News noted.

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum

The YBŞ was formed in 2014, when ISIS overran Sinjar, killing and enslaving thousands of Yazidis; made up of Yazidi volunteers who defended civilians trapped on the mountain, it was trained and supported by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Shafaq News reported. The group has since been at the centre of regional tensions: Türkiye has repeatedly struck YBŞ positions over its PKK links, while the Kurdistan Regional Government has opposed its presence and pressed for the 2020 Sinjar Agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, which requires unofficial armed groups to leave and hands security to federal and local police. In September, Iraq pledged to Türkiye to fully extend state authority in Sinjar, as part of a deal under which Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan camp near Mosul.

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum