By Bzhar Hakeem ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— A delegation representing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) visited Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday to urge the EU parliament to help rebuild the newly liberated Shingal, which authorities say urgently needs $100 million dollars to provide basic services before some 400,000 displaced people can return. Dilawar Azhgayi, KRG envoy to the EU, told Rudaw the delegation also urged the member states to officially recognize the slaughter of the Yezidi people in Shingal as genocide. Thousands of Yezidis were massacred and thousands more women and children were abducted when the Islamic State besieged Shingal last year. Those who survived fled for the mountains, triggering a dire humanitarian crisis. “We also talked about how the EU can help Peshmerga forces who have been effective in pushing back militants from Shingal,” Azhgayi said, noting that EU parliamentarian Anna Gome had shown support for a recognition of the genocide against Yezidis. According to some estimates, around 10,000 Yezidis have left Iraq and the Kurdistan region since last year, in hopes of obtaining asylum in Germany where many Yezidis already live. Many refugees - Yezidis and Muslims - are reluctant to go back to a war-torn Shingal, fearing sectarian conflicts between the two groups.
