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In a move that complicates the already intricate security landscape of northern Iraq, hundreds of Yazidi officers formerly serving in a Kurdish Peshmerga force affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced their defection. The defectors have reportedly joined the Christian Babylon Brigades, a militia within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), in the Nineveh Plains, sources told °®Âþµº.

Around 1,200 Yazidi fighters abandoned their posts in the Kurdistan Region and requested formal integration into Iraq's security forces. The announcement was made by members of the "Saqoor Sinjar" (Sinjar Falcons) force, formerly part of the Peshmerga's Fourth Sinjar Brigade, during a press conference early this month at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, where they appeared in military uniform.

The defectors accused Kurdish authorities of "injustice, oppression, exclusion, and marginalisation" over salary and entitlements during the past decade.

An official from the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TNA that the defecting force was not part of the ministry but rather belonged to the KDP-affiliated 80 Brigades. The official said that, as they were not formally incorporated into the Peshmerga Ministry, there were no official salary or service records, making legal action against them unlikely.

Former KRG Peshmerga Ministry Secretary Jabbar Yawar described the mass defection as illegal under military and civil law. He said that fighters could not leave their posts and join another force under the Iraqi federal government without following proper administrative procedures. He added that the defectors would need their service records and military ranks documented before joining the Iraqi army.

Yawar also noted that two Peshmerga brigades had been stationed in Sinjar—some integrated into the KRG Ministry of Peshmerga, while others remained under the KDP-controlled 80 Brigades. He suggested that unresolved salary and deployment issues may have contributed to the defections.Ìý

A former Iraqi Joint Operations Command spokesperson, Tahsin al-Khafaji, declined to comment on the matter, citing his pending transfer to Iraq's Ministry of Defence media office.

A source from Sinjar, speaking anonymously to TNA, said that the fighters left the KDP ranks due to low salaries, which reportedly ranged from $200 to $400 per month. The source added that many of the defectors relocated their families to Sinjar before announcing their departure, indicating a complete break from the KDP.

Colonel Luqman Guli, commander of the defecting force, said in a statement to Voice of America that the decision was due to "neglect and humiliation" by the Peshmerga. He accused Kurdish authorities of failing to recognise their service despite their role in the fight against Islamic State since 2015.

He said they had faced contradictory orders, rejection of requests for integration, and demotions instead of promotions. Furthermore, he pointed to financial disparity, alleging that Yazidi soldiers received significantly lower salaries than their counterparts.

Videos posted by Yazidi activists show Guli speaking to Yazidi youths at a military camp in Tel Kaif, where he announced that defectors from the Peshmerga would be recruited at the camp. The KDP has not issued an official response to the defections.

The defection adds to tensions between Baghdad and Erbil over governance and security control in disputed territories, highlighting the growing fragmentation within Iraq's security forces. Whether the Iraqi government will incorporate the defectors into its military remains unclear.