A United States Institute of Peace commentary on the ongoing status of Sinjar after being a battlefront in the fight against ISIS
Part 1: https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/04/struggle-sinjar-iraqis-views-security-disputed-district
Part 2: https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/04/struggle-sinjar-iraqis-views-governance-disputed-district
"Iraq’s Sinjar district and its communities have struggled to recover from the recent conflict against the Islamic State group (ISIS). This is due in large part to the fact that the district is one of 14 territories under dispute between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). As a result, Sinjar has become an arena for competition between the federal government, KRG and other actors in the post-ISIS period. This reality has led to frustration, anger and disillusionment among the communities in Sinjar, the majority of whom are Yazidi (Ezidi).
Along with the Government of Iraq (GoI) and the KRG, actors aligned with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), among others, are also part of this competition for control of Sinjar. There is a multitude of security actors aligned with these sides along with two competing administrative units attempting to govern the district, one aligned to the PMF and the other to the KRG. In October 2020, the GoI and KRG reached an agreement to help address the security and administrative challenges facing the district.
Recent findings from USIP’s Conflict and Stabilization Monitoring Framework (CSMF) highlight that the Sinjar agreement, if implemented, may indeed help address some community concerns around security and governance."