A Step That Could Change the Balance in Iraq 🇮🇶

KURDISTAN24

Türkiye says its forces will gradually transfer the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to Iraq's federal government as Baghdad advances agreed security measures in Sinjar.

The agreement follows talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York, with both sides agreeing to restore full state authority in Sinjar.

Meanwhile, Hürriyet reports that 2,200 YBŞ members are expected to disarm and be integrated into Iraq's security structure.

Read more: https://www.kurdistan24.net/.../turkish-media-2200-yb%C5.

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🇮🇶 NEWS SUMMARY

Turkey and Iraq have reached an agreement that could represent an important shift in northern Iraq.

Ankara has agreed to gradually transfer the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to Iraq’s federal government, while Baghdad advances security measures aimed at restoring full state authority in Sinjar (Shingal) and addressing the presence of armed groups in the area.

Meanwhile, Turkish media Hürriyet reports that around 2,200 members of the YBŞ (Sinjar Resistance Units) could disarm and be integrated into Iraq’s security institutions.

It is important to note that the figure of 2,200 comes from the Hürriyet report and is not specified in the official Turkish-Iraqi announcement.

🔎 WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Because Sinjar could become an example of how local armed groups can move from maintaining independent military structures toward operating under the authority of the Iraqi state.

And this is where I think the bigger significance lies.

If this process actually moves forward, it could send a message to other armed groups in Iraq: the country’s security should ultimately be concentrated under state institutions rather than divided among multiple armed centers of power.

This is particularly important for Baghdad, which has spent years balancing the presence of different armed forces within Iraq’s broader security system.

🇹🇷 AND THEN THERE IS TURKEY.

Turkey’s willingness to gradually reduce its military presence at Bashiqa-Zilkan and eventually hand the base over to Baghdad is also significant.

In practical terms, the agreement appears to connect two processes:

➡️ Greater Iraqi state authority in Sinjar

in exchange for

➡️ A gradual reduction of Turkey’s military presence in the area.

👀 MY OBSERVATION

What stands out to me most is the precedent this could create.

If Iraq succeeds in getting a force such as the YBŞ to disarm, integrate its members into official security institutions, and operate under state authority, Baghdad would have a concrete example it could point to when dealing with other armed organizations that still maintain their own military structures.

But there is an important caveat: announcing a disarmament agreement is one thing; actually implementing it is another.

The real test will be whether the weapons are genuinely surrendered, whether the fighters are successfully integrated, and whether Baghdad can maintain authority on the ground.

That is why I believe the significance of this story goes beyond the handover of one Turkish military base.

It could be the beginning of a broader discussion about who ultimately controls weapons and security in Iraq: the state, or multiple armed organizations operating alongside it.

If the Sinjar model works, it will be very interesting to see whether Baghdad can use it as a precedent for addressing the much broader issue of armed groups across Iraq. 🇮🇶

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