Iraq
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock upon arrival in Snune, Shingal, on March 9, 2023. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday visited the Lalish Temple of Yazidis in Shingal as well as a cultural center of the religious minority, and is set to visit the village of Kocho, one of the main sites of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) massacre against the Yazidis, before wrapping up her three-day trip to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Baerbock arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, meeting with top officials in the Iraqi capital city. She also met with the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil on Wednesday, discussing means to enhance relations between Erbil and Berlin.
Baerbock visited the House of Coexistence in Shingal’s Snune on Thursday morning, meeting with the head of the project Mirza Dinnayi who toured the German minister to the house, introducing her to the different parts of the location that aims to spread harmony in the area.
“We discussed a number of different topics in the meeting, especially the situation in Shingal. Discussing the need to restore stability to Shingal, what are the obstacles before that, and what Germany can do towards that end as an ally of Iraq, and as a country that has had a significant role in helping IDPs and in fighting ISIS,” Dinnayi told Rudaw’s Naif Ramadhan.
The house consists of a cultural and social center and a public platform that is designed to bring together all the various components living in the Yazidi heartland.
Baerbock later visited the temple of Lalish, meeting with senior religious figures of the Yazidi faith.
The German foreign minister also paid a visit to an IDP camp housing displaced Yazidis in Duhok on Wednesday afternoon to review the situation of the residents and address their problems.
During a press conference with PM Barzani, Baerbock highlighted the importance of ensuring the safety of the Yazidi people following the closure of the IDP camps in the Kurdistan Region, saying that the Yazidi people "must not return to unsafe areas."
In January, the German parliament recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidi community as “genocide”.
Baerbock arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, meeting with top officials in the Iraqi capital city. She also met with the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil on Wednesday, discussing means to enhance relations between Erbil and Berlin.
Baerbock visited the House of Coexistence in Shingal’s Snune on Thursday morning, meeting with the head of the project Mirza Dinnayi who toured the German minister to the house, introducing her to the different parts of the location that aims to spread harmony in the area.
“We discussed a number of different topics in the meeting, especially the situation in Shingal. Discussing the need to restore stability to Shingal, what are the obstacles before that, and what Germany can do towards that end as an ally of Iraq, and as a country that has had a significant role in helping IDPs and in fighting ISIS,” Dinnayi told Rudaw’s Naif Ramadhan.
The house consists of a cultural and social center and a public platform that is designed to bring together all the various components living in the Yazidi heartland.
Baerbock later visited the temple of Lalish, meeting with senior religious figures of the Yazidi faith.
The German foreign minister also paid a visit to an IDP camp housing displaced Yazidis in Duhok on Wednesday afternoon to review the situation of the residents and address their problems.
During a press conference with PM Barzani, Baerbock highlighted the importance of ensuring the safety of the Yazidi people following the closure of the IDP camps in the Kurdistan Region, saying that the Yazidi people "must not return to unsafe areas."
In January, the German parliament recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidi community as “genocide”.
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