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A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 4 May 2022
Yazidis, displaced again, fear more strife in Iraqi homeland

By RASHID YAHYA and in 2014 after IS’s brutal on-
SAMYA KULLAB slaught and returned in re-
Associated Press cent years to rebuild their
ZAKHO, Iraq (AP) — Iraqis in homes. The memories are
a northern town still trauma- still fresh in Sewe’s mind.
tized by memories of the Is- His was among the doz-
lamic State group feared ens of families who made
more violence Tuesday af- their way to the Chemishko
ter hostilities between the camp in Zakho on Monday.
military and a local militia He only gave The Associat-
erupted, people internally ed Press his first name.
displaced by the fighting The YBS was created in
said. 2014 with assistance from
Tensions reached a fever the PKK. They proved in-
pitch when Iraq’s military strumental in driving out IS
launched an offensive in elements from the area af-
Sinjar district Sunday to ter the collapse of the Iraqi
clear out armed elements army. The YBS has since
of the YBS, a local militia remained a powerful lo-
comprised largely of minor- cal force in the area, citing
ity Yazidis. deep mistrust of the fed-
The YBS has ties to the in- eral government forces de-
surgent Kurdistan Worker’s ployed to protect the area.
Party, or PKK, a separatist The Iraqi army said the aim
movement banned in Tur- of the offensive has been
key. Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck ion a base in Sinjar, Iraq, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Associated Press to reassert state authority in
The heavy fighting prompt- response to the YBS erect-
ed over 3,000 people, most dad’s efforts to encourage said this is because it did “The goal of these opera- ing checkpoints and pre-
of them Yazidis, to flee to- more Yazidis to return to not consult powerful local tions was to impose the venting citizens from return-
ward the Kurdish-run north. their ancestral homeland forces in Sinjar or even Ya- (rule of) law and security ing to their homes.
It wasn’t clear if there were after years of war. zidi leaders. Local residents, to secure a safe environ- But most residents expect
any dead or wounded in An agreement was bro- who also include Arab Sun- ment so that we can re- more violence.
the fighting: Iraqi officials kered by the United Nations nis, are also deeply divided. build Sinjar and return the “When we went back to
have released no figures in October 2020 between Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir al- displaced.” our home we found it was
and have not commented Baghdad and the Kurdish- Shammari, deputy com- But Yazidis, many displaced impossible to live there,”
on casualties. run government to imple- mander of Iraq’s Joint Op- now for a second time, are said Rashid Barakat, now
Fighting ceased Tuesday ment order in the area. erations Command, told a reluctant to return. displaced in the Chemish-
and the Iraqi army said it Under that agreement, the news conference in Sinjar Most of the displaced fled ko camp. “The army was
had re-established control federal police are the sole that Iraqi forces have im- north to the Kurdish-run attacking (the YBS) and
of Sinjar. But the violence state authority. posed security and law and region where they were the (YBS) was hitting them
and subsequent displace- The accord has not prov- order and have opened all distributed across differ- back, and we were stuck in
ment dealt a blow to Bagh- en successful. Critics have the roads in the district. ent camps. Many first fled between.”q

Sri Lanka opposition declares no confidence in government

By KRISHAN FRANCIS position party on Tuesday Rajapaksa and his Cabinet 225-member Parliament the president but it would
Associated Press issued a no-confidence and blaming them of fail- would be needed to re- not force him to leave of-
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) declaration aiming at oust- ing in their constitutional move Rajapaksa and the fice even a majority of law-
— Sri Lanka’s main op- ing Prime Minister Mahinda duty to provide a decent Cabinet from power. The makers vote against him.
living standards amid the United People’s Force can Sri Lanka is on the brink of
island nation’s worst eco- only count on 54 votes but bankruptcy after the coun-
nomic crisis in memory. hopes to win votes from try’s recent announcement
A group from United Peo- smaller opposition parties to suspend payments on
ple’s Force party, led by and defections from the rul- its foreign loans. The coun-
leader Sajith Premadasa, ing Sri Lanka People’s Front try faces repayments of $7
delivered the motion de- party. The ruling party had billion of foreign loans this
manding the no-confident nearly 150 votes but that year of the $ 25 billion it is
parliamentary vote to Par- strength has declined amid scheduled to pay by 2026.
liament Speaker Mahinda the economic crisis and de- Sri Lanka has less than than
Yapa Abeywardena. fections in a no-confidence $ 1 billion in foreign reserves.
The move came amid vote are possible. The foreign currency cri-
countrywide protests de- A decision on when to hold sis has limited imports and
manding the resignation of the no-confidence vote is caused severe shortages
Rajapaksa and his younger expected to happen af- of essential goods like fuel,
brother, President Got- ter members of Parliament cooking gas, medicine and
Prof. Kumari Jayawardena, a leading Sri Lankan academic abaya Rajapaksa, who the start meeting on Wednes- food. People stand in long
and feminism activist holds a placard demanding political and demonstrators hold respon- day. lines for hours to buy what
economic stability in the country near the ongoing protest site
as the Chinese funded sea reclamation Port City project is seen sible for the economic cri- The United People’s Force they can and many return
in the background in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 2, 2022. sis. also delivered a no-con- home with little, if any, of
Associated Press A majority vote in the fidence motion targeting what they were seeking.q