Iraq
Yazidi women hold up pictures of missed relatives during a commemoration ceremony in Germany. File photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi and Kurdish leaders on Wednesday, along with Yazidis, commemorated the eighth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Shingal as over 2 thousand members of the ethnoreligious group remain in captivity of the terror group with their families holding out hope of their return.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Yazidi figures, and other Kurdish officials attended an event held in remembrance of the atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidis in Duhok’s Semel district.
“This was the greatest tragedy of the 21st century inflicted on Yazidis and the people of Kurdistan [Region],” President Barzani said in a speech delivered at the event.
The Yazidi genocide was another “episode of murderous crimes in the history of Kurdistan and another round of mass murders against the Yazidis,” he added.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants took over the Shingal district of northern Iraq, committing genocide against the Yazidi minority. Thousands fled their homes as the militants systematically killed men and older women, and enslaved younger women and children. In the first days of the genocide, 1,293 people were killed and 6,417 people were abducted.
Today, 2,717 Yazidis are still missing, according to statistics from the Rescue Kidnapped Yazidis office. Many are believed to be held by ISIS fighters and families who melted back into their former lives when their so-called caliphate fell or are detained in camps in northeast Syria (Rojava).
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in a statement said the heinous ISIS crime “shook the conscience of humanity and the Kurdistani [Kurdish] nation.”
Approximately 6,417 Yazidis were kidnapped by ISIS. Women and young girls were sold into sexual slavery, with young boys forced to fight for the terror group. According to the Office for Yazidi Abductees' Affairs, 3,554 have been rescued - including 1,207 women.
The premier also highlighted the security situation in Shingal, which remains fragile due to the presence of “armed groups” in the area, preventing Yazidis from returning home.
There is a myriad of armed forces in Shingal with various allegiances, including the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga, pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), and groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). They gained footholds in Shingal after ousting ISIS.
Disputes over control of the area have prevented most of the Yazidi population from going back to Shingal.
Kurdistan Democratic Party Leader (KDP) Masoud Barzani also called for the expulsion of the armed groups from the area, saying it is the “first step” in healing the wounds of Yazidis.
The Kurdish leaders also renewed their calls for the implementation of the Shingal agreement.
Diplomatic missions in Iraq and the Region also commemorated the Yazidi genocide.
United Nations Iraq said “peace, development, and accountability” is key for the Yazidi community to flourish as they have “still not achieved the peace and prosperity” they deserve.
US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski also called for the implementation of the Shingal agreement.
Baghdad reached a deal with the KRG in October of 2020 over the governance and security of Shingal to resolve a number of issues preventing its displaced people from returning to the area.
Under the Erbil-Baghdad agreement, security for the troubled region will be Baghdad's responsibility. The federal government will have to establish a new armed force recruited from the local population and expel fighters from the PKK and their affiliated groups.
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