ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced a project set to provide financial support for 3,000 Yazidis, as the Kurdistan Region continues to shelter many from the minority group nearly 10 years on.
“Although this year we are commemorating the ten years since the massacre of Shingal and its surroundings, unfortunately, the pains and suffering of the Yazidi people 10 years after the catastrophe have not ended,” said Barzani in a speech from Erbil on Tuesday.
According to the premier, the project will provide financial support to 3,000 Yazidi survivors of the Islamic State (ISIS), to improve their financial situation, offer job opportunities and ensure access to education and healthcare services.
Barzani highlighted that the KRG has made significant efforts to ease the suffering of families affected by ISIS and played a crucial role in rescuing those who were kidnapped by the terrorist group.
The premier thanked the international community for assisting the KRG in recognizing ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as genocide. He added that the Iraqi government has not adequately supported efforts to establish a special court or tribunal to prosecute ISIS criminals, which would provide a path to justice for survivors.
He attributed the presence of militia groups in Shingal as a key reason why residents have not been able to return to their homes.
Yazidis in Shingal were subjected to countless heinous atrocities, including forced marriages, sexual violence and massacres when ISIS captured their areas in 2014, bringing destruction to many villages and towns populated by the minority group. They were forced to flee to displacement camps predominantly in the Kurdistan Region and in Iraq, where many remain.
Shingal has seen instability, insecurity and a lack of basic services after the city was declared liberated from ISIS in late 2015. Various armed groups have gained a foothold in the area, including Iran-backed militias and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outside of the control of the KRG and Iraqi federal government.
The Erbil office of the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration has increased efforts to implement Baghdad’s decision to close all IDP camps in the country, including in the Kurdistan Region, before July 30.
Human rights advocates have expressed concern about Iraq’s push to close the camps, saying all returns must be voluntary.
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