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Q&A: Zardasht Shangali, commander of the YBS (Sinjar Resistance Units)

After deadly clashes with the Iraqi Army, the YBS leader discusses improved security coordination, a strategically important Syrian border crossing, and the future of Sinjar.
Zardasht Shangali, commander of the YBS (Sinjar Resistance Units), a paramilitary group that operates in the Sinjar district of Iraq's Ninewa province. (Photo courtesy of Zardasht Shangali)

SULAIMANIYA - When deadly battles erupted between rival security forces in Sinjar last month, the fighting highlighted unresolved disputes over territorial control and the fate of Iraq's Yazidi minority.

Zardasht Shangali is the commander of the YBS (Yekîneyên Berxwedana Şengalê, or Sinjar Resistance Units), a paramilitary force that was formed in 2014 to fight the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militant group and protect Sinjaris, who had been left otherwise defenseless by security forces controlled by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government.

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