A protest was held in Shingal last Thursday against the recent return of several Arab families to the region where Islamic State (ISIS) militants committed genocide against Yazidis nearly nine years ago. Videos shared on social media showed demonstrators protesting near the mosque with a small fire burning outside the premises and security forces firing bullets into the air in an attempt to disperse crowd. Muslim groups based in Shingal claimed that the Yazidis had set fire to a mosque during the protest.
The incident sparked heated reactions on social media, with some using inflammatory terms to describe Yazidis and calling for justice. Others jumped to the Yazidis' defense and tried to maintain peace between the two sides.
“The Embassy of France in Iraq condemns in the strongest terms the proliferation, in recent days, of hate speech targeting the Yazidi community, including the apology for the crimes committed against Yazidis by Daesh,” read a statement from the French diplomatic mission using the Arabic name for ISIS.
In addition to thousands of offensive comments on social media, many local clerics also used their podiums during Friday prayer to spew hatred against the Yazidis, referring to the community as “infidels” and “ungrateful.”
The French embassy reaffirmed the country’s support for Yazidis in Iraq, saying they have the right to peaceful and dignified living in the same way as any of Iraq’s other components, also calling on authorities in Baghdad and Erbil to continue their efforts in strengthening security and governance in Shingal as they work on reconstructing the city.
Yazidi figures and institutions, including the community’s chief Mir Hazim Tahsin Bag, denied the attack on the mosque and said it was contrary to Yazidi morality. Security authorities in Nineveh also denied there had been a fire inside the mosque.
The protest in Shingal follows the recent return of some Arab families to the region where mistrust is still high between Yazidis and Muslims who they accuse of having ties to ISIS.
The Iraqi government in April shut down al-Jada 5 camp in Nineveh province where hundreds of families with alleged ISIS ties were living. Residents were given a 48-hour notice to vacate the camp. The United Nations criticized the closure and called on Baghdad to ensure the safety of the families. The camp housed 1,566 people, almost two-thirds of them children, according to the UN.
Ali Jihangir, an official from Iraq’s migration and displacement ministry, told Rudaw that none of the Arab families that have returned to Shingal were from Jada camp.
