The Kurdistan Workers’ Part (PKK) has no intention to practically withdraw its fighters from Sinjar and its surrounding areas which is obliged by a recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Federal Government of Iraq announced a landmark agreement in October to restore the security and administration in Sinjar and force all the armed groups outside the control of the federal government out of the region.

Previous reports indicated that the PKK had ordered the withdrawal of some of its units from Sinjar. However, head of KDP representation office in the region said that the party has alternative plans to mislead the United Nations which oversees the stabilization efforts in Iraq.

“The PKK fighters who are originally from Sinjar are staying in their homes while still armed, and the rest have moved back into tunnels the group had previously prepared on Mount Sinjar,” Qadir Qachaq said.

Some PKK fighters, according to Qachaq, are disguising themselves with uniforms of the Iraqi federal police in order to maintain the presence inside the city.

The KDP official also pointed out that the agreement requires the PKK to stay at least five kilometers outside the border of Sinjar. Anywhere closer, as he claims, would pose a threat to the returning Yezidi IDPs.