By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Türkiye and Iraq have agreed on a phased handover of the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to Iraq's federal government, with the transfer tied to Baghdad's progress in restoring state authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of foreign armed groups there.
The agreement followed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's September 23 meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York. The two governments said the transfer would proceed under an agreed mechanism and timetable as Iraqi security measures in Sinjar advance. They also agreed to accelerate the Development Road Project and expand bilateral trade and investment.
Handover Linked to Sinjar Security Steps
The future of Bashiqa-Zilkan is now tied directly to security steps in Sinjar.
Türkiye and Iraq said they would work toward the full restoration of Iraqi state authority in the district and the removal of what the joint statement described as "outlawed foreign armed elements." The statement did not identify the groups covered by that wording.
Ankara has long identified the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) presence in Sinjar as a security concern. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Iraq announced in March 2024 that it had listed the PKK as a banned organization.
The deal builds on security arrangements Ankara and Baghdad have been putting in place since late 2023. A bilateral security mechanism identified the PKK as a common threat in December 2023. In August 2024, the two defense ministries signed a memorandum covering military, security and counterterrorism cooperation.
Reuters cited an Iraqi military commander familiar with the New York talks as saying the phased withdrawal from Bashiqa and another smaller Turkish position near Mosul was expected to be completed by the end of 2026. The deadline does not appear in the official Turkish-Iraqi statement, and Ankara has not publicly confirmed it.
Bashiqa Dispute Dates to 2015
Türkiye began training Iraqi personnel at the camp near Mosul in 2015 as part of preparations for the fight against Islamic State. Ankara said Turkish personnel were training Iraqi volunteers and that additional forces deployed later that year were intended to protect the camp and its trainers.
The additional deployment drew objections from Baghdad and developed into a dispute over Iraqi sovereignty. Türkiye acknowledged in December 2015 that communication with the Iraqi government had broken down and began moving some forces from Ninewa province.
The dispute outlasted the campaign against Islamic State. A 2016 UN briefing said Baghdad continued to regard the Turkish presence at Bashiqa as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity, with no publicly visible progress toward a settlement at the time.
The September 23 agreement now provides a publicly stated mechanism for a gradual transfer of the installation to federal Iraqi control.
Sinjar Deal Still Unfinished
Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government reached an agreement on Sinjar in October 2020 covering governance, security and reconstruction. The United Nations welcomed the accord but warned that stable governance and security structures would be needed for reconstruction and displaced residents to return.
Baghdad launched a new push this month. On September 11, Prime Minister al-Zaidi announced the start of weapons handovers by Sinjar Resistance factions and said Mount Sinjar would come under the full security and administrative authority of the federal government. His office said qualified members of the resistance units and women's units could be integrated into state security institutions under legal procedures.
Sinjar remains closely tied to the aftermath of Islamic State's 2014 assault on the Yazidi community. Disputes over security, administration, reconstruction and the return of displaced residents have persisted since the group was driven from the area.
The September 23 deal does not say it replaces the 2020 Sinjar framework. It adds a new bilateral condition: progress on security and state authority in Sinjar will shape the timetable for the Turkish handover at Bashiqa-Zilkan.
The agreement also folds the Development Road into the same package. Erdoğan and al-Zaidi called for previously signed agreements to be implemented and for work on the transport corridor linking Iraq to Türkiye to accelerate.
Sources: Türkiye's Directorate of Communications, Türkiye's Foreign Ministry, Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Reuters, U.S. Department of State, Council of the European Union, Bosphorus News review and reporting.