BAGHDAD — As a cold snap puts thousands of displaced people living in makeshift housing at risk, the Iraqi army has stepped up its attempts to restore full control over an area of the country known for a 2014 massacre by the Islamic State (IS) but rendered unstable by a multitude of armed factions operating in it.
Over a year after an agreement ordering armed groups to leave the Sinjar area, the Iraqi army on Jan. 18 arrested several fighters from a Yazidi armed group operating in the area and confiscated their weapons.
