ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, and Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, have issued statements condemning the Sinjar massacre of Yezidis and vowing to bring life back to the Shingal region. “On the second anniversary of the mass killings of Shingal and the Yezidi people, we bow in honor in front of the pure souls of all the martyrs of this genocide and we remember this black day in the history of Kurdistan with deep sorrow and deep grief,” reads a statement from Barzani. Barzani described the Shingal massacre as a deep wound that will not heal over time but will always stay in the memory of the Kurdish people. He also vowed that an independent Kurdistan would protect the rights of its people and prevent such a horrific crime from occurring again. “This great crime committed by terrorists against our Yazidi people, proved once again the fact that the people of Kurdistan should reach out for all of their rights and achieve full sovereignty to prevent the recurrence of such heinous crimes and mass murder against the people of Kurdistan,” the statement continued. Barzani reassured the Yezidis that he will do everything possible to free the Yezidis who are still under the captivity of the Islamic State (ISIS). “We will do the best we can to rebuild Shingal and liberate the remaining areas and bring back life to the neighborhood,” he added. Talabani echoed Barzani’s sentiments, saying, “The Kurdish nation has a long history of being subjected to mass killings and the most outrageous one is the Shingal genocide after the terrorist group Daesh [ISIS] seized the town and abducted people from all nationalities around Mosul including Yezidis, Christians, Shabak, Kakeis and Sunni Muslims.” Talabani said it is important to bring back basic services as soon as possible to the war-torn city and to provide the people of Shingal with a normal life. “The efforts should be increased to return back the hostages who are still under the control of the terrorist group Daesh and offer assistance to overcome the psychological aftermath of these brutal acts,” he continued. Both Talabani and Barzani stressed the need to bring the perpetrators of the genocide to justice. “[W]e call on international communities to recognize the Shingal case as genocide and work to detain the criminals and bring justice,” Talabani said in his statement.
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