Located 18 kilometers southwest of Shingal, Kocho was home to approximately 1,700 people before ISIS militants took over the district in August 2014. On August 15, less than two weeks after ISIS’ invasion of Shingal, Kocho villagers were gathered by ISIS militants at a local school before being separated, with almost all of the men shot, boys forced to become child soldiers, and women and girls sold into sexual slavery.
A statement from Sudani’s office on the ninth anniversary of the massacre said that the premier has directed the reconstruction of Kocho to begin, in an effort to honor the village’s citizens.
“This effort aims to honor the village's esteemed residents and expresses a sense of responsibility toward our diverse population and their right to live safely and with dignity,” read the statement.
ISIS militants swept across Iraq in August 2014, committing genocide against the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority who primarily lived in the Shingal district. In the first days of the ISIS attack, militants killed 1,293 people, according to figures from the Kurdistan Region’s office for rescuing kidnapped Yazidis.
Among Kocho’s victims was Nadia Murad, now a Nobel Peace Laureate and prominent advocate for the Yazidi community.
