By the Editorial Team of TLF
Two agreements could begin to redraw the security map of northern Iraq: Turkish forces are set to leave their long-disputed base at Bashiqa, while Baghdad moves to bring Yazidi armed formations in Sinjar under federal authority.
A military presence that has troubled relations between Baghdad and Ankara for years may finally be coming to an end. Turkey has agreed to withdraw its forces from the Bashiqa-Zilkan base in northern Iraq, while the Iraqi government has separately reached an agreement aimed at bringing the Yazidi armed groups of Sinjar into the country's official security structures, Numedya24 reported.
Taken together, the agreements go beyond a routine security arrangement. They point towards an attempt by Baghdad to reclaim authority over one of Iraq's most fragmented and politically sensitive regions — a landscape where local armed groups, Turkish forces and competing regional interests have overlapped since the war against Islamic State.
An Agreement in New York
The first agreement emerged in New York, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zeidi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
According to the joint statement cited by Numedya24, Ankara and Baghdad agreed to deepen security cooperation and work towards restoring full Iraqi state authority in Sinjar. The agreement also calls for an end to the presence of armed groups operating there without Baghdad's authorisation.
The most consequential part, however, concerns Bashiqa-Zilkan.
Under the arrangement, Turkish troops are to withdraw and control of the military facility is to pass to the Iraqi government.
Turkey's military presence at Bashiqa has long been a source of friction with Baghdad. Iraqi governments have repeatedly insisted that foreign forces operating on Iraqi territory require federal approval, while Ankara has defended its deployments in northern Iraq primarily through the security threat posed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
A completed withdrawal would therefore remove one of the recurring points of tension between the two neighbours.
A Second Deal in Baghdad
At almost the same time, Baghdad was addressing another part of Sinjar's complicated security picture.
Al-Zeidi met representatives of the Yazidi Cause Alliance and the Sinjar Resistance Units, or YBŞ. Murad Ismail, an MP and leader of the alliance, said an agreement had been reached to integrate YBŞ members into Iraq's official security forces and bring their weapons under state control.
The arrangement also covers members of the Sinjar Women's Units, or YJŞ.
According to Numedya24, the Iraqi government has pledged to recognise the rights and service of members of both organisations, regulate their legal status and integrate eligible members into state security institutions under Iraqi law.
The distinction matters. Baghdad is not simply demanding that the Yazidi formations disappear. It is offering at least some of their members a route from autonomous armed structures into the institutions of the Iraqi state.
Sinjar's Unfinished War
Behind these negotiations lies the catastrophe of 2014.
When Islamic State attacked Sinjar, thousands of Yazidis were killed, abducted or forced from their homes. Women and girls were subjected to enslavement and sexual violence, while entire communities were scattered across Iraq and beyond.
More than a decade later, that story is still unfinished.
Many displaced families have yet to return home, while thousands of Yazidis remain missing or unaccounted for, according to Numedya24. Reconstruction, compensation for Islamic State victims and the conditions necessary for displaced residents to return were therefore also part of the Baghdad discussions.
These are not secondary questions. For families who have spent years away from Sinjar, restoring state authority will mean little unless it also brings security, functioning services, reconstruction and a realistic possibility of going home.
The Difficult Part Comes Next
Neither agreement settles Sinjar's future on paper alone.
Much now depends on implementation: whether Turkish forces actually leave Bashiqa, how and when the base is transferred to Baghdad, which YBŞ and YJŞ members enter Iraqi institutions, what happens to those who do not, and whether the new security arrangements can survive the competing interests surrounding Sinjar.
Still, the direction is significant.
Turkey would reduce its direct military footprint. Yazidi armed formations would move closer to the Iraqi state. Baghdad, meanwhile, would attempt to replace a patchwork of competing forces with something approaching a single chain of authority.
For Sinjar, where agreements have been announced before only to stall or remain partly implemented, that is the real test.
The signatures and statements are the easier part. What happens on the ground will determine whether this is another arrangement added to Sinjar's long list of unfinished deals — or the beginning of a genuine change.
The map was created with the assistance of AI technology.
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