ERBIL, Iraq – An Iraqi Yazidi group backed by Turkish Kurds and Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitary clashed on Friday near the border with Syria, a local security official said.
Several people were wounded and possibly killed.
The confrontation broke out at the checkpoints that separates the Yazidis’ YBS, considered a branch of PKK, a Turkish Kurd separatist group, and Popular Mobilization, a coalition of mainly paramilitary groups trained and armed by Iran, said a security official in the Yazidi Sinjar region in northwest Iraq. YBS stands for Sinjar Resistance Units.
It took place as the Kurdistan Regional Government prepares for a referendum on Monday on independence in the region under its control, including Sinjar.
It is the first clash between the two groups since Popular Mobilization units deployed in May in the region south of Sinjar and near the border with Syria which they captured from Islamic State militants, he said.
The confrontation broke out because of a personal dispute and lasted several hours, he said.
Article source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/1.812635
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