Iraq: Peshmerga Rojava Forces and Sinjar Protection Units clashed in Sinjar
Clashes between Peshmerga forces and the Sinjar Protection Units erupted near Sinjar, a town in Iraqi Kurdistan, local Kurdish sources reported.
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), is known to back Peshmerga units, while Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) backs the Sinjar Protection Units.
The deadly fighting emerged when Peshmerga Rojava forces moved towards the border with Syria, encroaching on territory controlled by a local affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK’s foothold in the area has put it on a collision course with Barzani’s KDP, which is aligned with Turkey and counts Sinjar as part of its territory.