The Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has “promised” to review two sections of the Baghdad-Erbil agreement on Shingal: the section regarding removing all forces currently present in the district; the instalment of a new administration. This comes after a three-hour meeting in Baghdad with a delegation from Shingal.
The delegation, consisting of religious, political and tribal figures, along with security officials, intellectuals and families of ISIS victims, met with the prime minister in Baghdad on 15 November 2020.
On behalf of Shingal residents, the 22-member delegation conveyed their dismay about the Baghdad-Erbil agreement.
Dakhil Murad, a tribal chief from Khanasor and a member of the delegation, told KirkukNow: “Initially we asked for a change in the seventh point in the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil. That point says that except for the police, all forces must leave Shingal. We requested that the forces that currently protect Shingal, to remain, because during the ISIS war and to this day, they have offered great service to the people of the region.”
The delegation also requested the second point to be reviewed, which stipulates the instalment of the new administration. Murad said, “we asked the prime minister to appoint an independent mayor for Shingal, provided they are from Shingal and a current resident there. And to be appointed with the will of the people of the region, not according to party politics and external meddling,” adding that, “the prime minister fortunately promised to review the two points.”
the prime minister fortunately promised to review the two points
Fakhir Khalaf, a religious figure and a member of the delegation, told KirkukNow: “We held a friendly and very important meeting with the prime minister. We discussed conditions in Shingal district at length for three hours. We then expressed our and the people of Shingal’s objection regarding the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, and asked him to review the length content of the agreement.”
“The prime minister made us two important promises. First, he said he would visit Shingal soon and that they would install an administration acceptable to the people of Shingal. Second, he said that if they find any of the points against the benefits of the people of Shingal, they would review them,” Khalaf added.
The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Federal Government signed an agreement on 1 October to form a new administration and to reorganize the security oversight for the district.
According to the content of the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, a new mayor will be installed for the district of Shingal, and the administrative posts will be put under evaluation for potential replacements.
The Shingal agreement between the Federal and the Kurdistan Regional governments stipulates that the Federal Police, Intelligence Agency and National Security Apparatus with cooperation with Kurdistan Regional Government Security Forces, will be put in charge of the security of the district. And that 2500 security personnel to be recruited from people of Shingal: 1000 from the current residents of Shingal, and 1500 from IDPs.
All other forces in Shingal, including those with ties to the PKK, must be removed from the district, according to the agreement.
But there have been objections from different components of Shingal’s residents and several demonstrations have been organized against it.
