Erdoğan, Iraqi PM al-Sudani agree on Shengal, Turkish base to be handed to Baghdad
Turkey and Iraq agreed in a joint statement after a New York meeting that Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Başika-Zilkan base to the Iraqi federal government in exchange for an end to YBŞ presence in Shengal.
RastinewsTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in New York on September 23. Turkey's Directorate of Communications shared the two countries' joint statement on X after the meeting.
The statement said the talks covered all aspects of the strategic relationship and that both sides agreed to deepen cooperation on security.
"Banned foreign armed elements"
According to the joint statement, the two sides agreed on the full establishment of state authority in Shengal and on ending the presence of "banned foreign armed elements" in the region.
No group was named. But the wording is widely seen as targeting the Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ), which Turkey considers linked to the PKK. The YBŞ is made up largely of Yazidi Kurds, the region's indigenous population.
The statement used the Arabic name "Sinjar" rather than the Kurdish name Shengal. It made no mention of whether the Kurdistan Region government would be involved in the process.
Başika-Zilkan to be handed over in stages
Per the statement, as Iraq makes progress on security arrangements in Shengal, Turkish forces will gradually transfer the Başika-Zilkan base to the Iraqi federal government under a mechanism and timeline to be agreed.
No details on the mechanism or timeline were released. The base handover was thus tied to progress on the Shengal process.
Erdoğan and al-Sudani also agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, to implement signed agreements without delay, and to accelerate joint strategic projects, chief among them the Development Road Project.
Shengal has been at the center of dispute for years
ISIS attacked Shengal on August 3, 2014, killing thousands of Yazidi Kurds and abducting women and children. The United Nations and many other countries and institutions have described the attacks as genocide.
The YBŞ was formed in the region after the attacks and took part in the campaign to retake Shengal from ISIS.
Baghdad and Erbil signed the Shengal Agreement under UN auspices in October 2020, which called for the removal of armed groups from the region and the establishment of joint administration. The agreement has never been fully implemented.
The Turkish military set up a base in the Başika area near Mosul at the end of 2015, a presence Baghdad has periodically protested.