UPDATE - Sinjar deal helps return of displaced: Iraqi parliament

UPDATES WITH INFO FROM AGREEMENT

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - The Iraqi parliament on Saturday said a settlement agreement between the Iraqi government and Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on the status of the Sinjar district of the northern Ninewa Governorate will accelerate the return of displaced people.

On Friday, the Iraqi Prime Ministry announced it reached a "historic deal" with the KRG, an agreement that will bolster the Iraqi federal authority in Sinjar under the constitution in terms of governance and security.

"The agreement will directly contribute to accelerate the return of the displaced families to their homes and ensure their stability in their areas," said Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Bashir al-Haddad.

Al-Haddad stressed the importance of the joint management between Baghdad and Erbil in dealing with the security of Sinjar along with coordination of public services as well as reconstruction of the infrastructure.

The presence of the PKK terror group in Sinjar and surrounding areas will be ended, according to the agreement which Anadolu Agency reached. It also said that the PKK and all its affiliations will take no role in the region.

Also, Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) forces in Sinjar will be taken out of the district, the agreement said.

The Iraqi Prime Minister's spokesperson Ahmed Mulla Talal said on Friday in a Twitter statement that the agreement will end the authority of intruding groups in Sinjar, referring to the PKK terrorist group.

The PKK terrorist group managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in mid-2014 under the pretext of protecting the local Yazidi community from Daesh/ISIS.

Around 450,000 Yazidis escaped Sinjar after Daesh/ISIS group took control of the region in mid-2014.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara.