Mattis: We Want to See PKK Pull Out of Sinjar

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US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has said that they want to see the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leave Sinjar, Iraq.

Mattis made a statement in Pentagon’s press office. Exportation of diplomats of Russia and ongoing negotiations with Turkey were on the agenda of Mattis.

Mattis said that the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the US and said, “We want to see them pull out of Sinjar”.

Question about Manbij

Mattis was also asked about Turkey’s potential operation into Manbij.

“In the Afrin area, the Turkish forces are consolidating.  There have been reports of looting in the town by some of the elements that came in to Afrin -- in Afrin city itself, and a lot of people made refuge there. 

“There has been no move against Manbij, and we continue our dialogue with the Turkish authorities about how do we sort this out”, Mattis responded.

Stressing that “the US and Turkey have an open dialogue”, Mattis added that “there's been no move on Manbij”.

What happened in Sinjar?

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) captured Sinjar, which was controlled by Peshmerga of Kurdistan Regional Government, on August 3, 2014.

Yazidis were constituting the majority of Sinjar population. Tens of thousands of people fled to Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey. Sinjar was captured back from ISIS by Kurdish forces in 2015.

In March 2017, clashes erupted between Peshmerga forces and Yazidis, leading to casualties.

It was reported that a Yazidi group fighting under Iraqi central government’s Popular Mobilization Forces captured the city on October 17, 2017. (HK/TK)