Breaking: Barzani forces abandon from Sinjar, Iraqi gov’t forces take control

For the second time in three years, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces have abandoned the city of Sinjar in northwestern Iraq.

With the Peshmerga withdrawal today, the Yazidi-led Hashd Al-Sha’abi (Popular Mobilization Units) forces have asserted full control of this city in the historic Nineveh Governorate.

No clashes were reported in Sinjar before the Peshmerga retreat this morning.

The loss of Sinjar marks the second major city in Iraq that the Peshmarga forces have conceded to the government forces in the last 24 hours – the first was Kirkuk.