ERBIL () - Reports that armed groups in Sinjar are preparing to surrender their weapons are unfounded, a senior Nineveh security official said Saturday, stressing that no concrete steps have been taken and that more than 4,000 armed fighters remain in the district.
Mohammed Jassim, head of the Nineveh Provincial Council's Security Committee, told that there had been no practical movement on the ground toward disarmament despite recent reports suggesting otherwise.
He said previous attempts to address the issue had also failed.
During the government of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, around 2,000 fighters registered as part of a process intended to lead to the surrender of their weapons, Jassim said.
That process ultimately did not succeed.
Current estimates indicate that more than 4,000 armed fighters are still present in the Sinjar area, he added.
Jassim said the most urgent political and administrative issue now facing the district is the appointment of a new district commissioner.
His remarks follow a Sept. 1 security meeting chaired by Abdul Amir al-Shammari, director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Iraq's Armed Forces, during which officials discussed Sinjar's security situation and reconstruction.
Iraqi media have reported that Baghdad is considering integrating around 2,000 PKK-affiliated fighters based in Sinjar into the security forces as a formation separate from the Popular Mobilization Forces.
No such arrangement has yet been implemented, according to the information provided.
The presence of multiple armed groups has remained one of the central obstacles to stabilizing Sinjar.
The Sinjar Agreement, signed in October 2020 between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq's federal government under United Nations auspices, was intended to normalize conditions in the district and reorganize security and administration.
Among its principal provisions was the removal of armed groups from Sinjar's city center, including the PKK, Popular Mobilization Forces elements and other armed formations, leaving security under the control of official federal institutions such as the Federal Police and National Security forces.
Implementation, however, has repeatedly stalled.
Local armed formations, including the Sinjar Resistance Units, or YBŞ, as well as several PMF factions, have rejected or resisted elements of the agreement and remain present in the area.
The unresolved weapons file has also become closely connected to Sinjar's political and administrative paralysis.
Disputes over the district leadership have prevented the establishment of a new local administration, while the appointment of a district commissioner remains contested among the relevant political actors.
That deadlock has complicated reconstruction and the return of displaced residents.
Thousands of Ezidis remain displaced years after ISIS attacked Sinjar in 2014, and the continued presence of competing armed forces has been repeatedly cited as one of the factors hindering large-scale returns.
Jassim's remarks indicate that despite renewed discussions at the federal level, the core security problem remains unresolved.
For Baghdad and Erbil, the challenge is not only reducing the number of armed groups in the district, but establishing a unified security structure and functioning local administration capable of supporting reconstruction and facilitating the return of displaced residents.
For now, Jassim said, reports of an imminent weapons handover do not reflect the situation on the ground.
