Ankara and Baghdad activate joint security committee to end PKK presence in Sinjar

Türkiye and Iraq affirmed in a joint statement their shared determination to continue Baghdad’s steps to fully restore state authority in Sinjar and end the presence of PKK terrorist elements. They decided to activate the joint security coordination committee, while Ankara announced the start of gradual steps to hand over the Bashiqa-Zlikan camp.

Türkiye and Iraq decided to activate the joint security coordination committee agreed upon earlier to jointly verify and oversee progress in the process launched in Sinjar district to completely end the presence of the PKK terrorist organization, according to a joint statement issued by the two countries.

Based on the understanding reached by the two countries’ leaders on September 23, the two sides affirmed their shared determination to continue the steps taken by the Iraqi authorities so far, which the statement described as “commendable,” to fully restore state authority in Sinjar and end the presence of the organization’s elements.

Gradual handover of Bashiqa-Zlikan camp

The Turkish side announced in the statement that it would begin taking the steps required of it to gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zlikan camp in northern Iraq to the Iraqi federal government, in line with the understanding reached at the leaders’ level.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi in New York on September 23 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Euronews reported at the time that Türkiye, which has been present at the camp since 2015, would hand it over gradually under an agreed mechanism and timetable, in a manner consistent with the progress Baghdad makes on the security file.

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