A Rudaw reporter and cameraman were injured on Tuesday after being attacked by members of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) while covering Turkish airstrikes on a hospital in Shingal district.
Reporter Tahsin Qasim was shot at, and along with cameraman Ali Hamas, was attacked with stones and had his equipment seized. He is now recovering in hospital.
This is not the first time Qasim and his team have been targeted. In February, Qasim and his cameraman Naif Ido were briefly detained by a brigade with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Below is a statement from Rudaw Media Network on the incident:
Following the news of a Turkish airstrike against a makeshift hospital in the village of Sikeniye south of Shingal district in Iraq's Nineveh province, Rudaw dispatched a team to the area to cover the incident on August 17 at 15:30 local time. Thirty minutes after the dispatch and while Rudaw’s reporter Tahsin Qasim and his cameraman were covering the news near the site of the explosion, two fighters from the Shingal Protection Units (YBS)- at the command of Daye Shamma- attacked the Rudaw team with the intent to kill them.
According to Rudaw's Tahsin Qasim, Daye Shamma, a member of the YBS-affiliated self-administration of Shingal and who is from the Qiran tribe, ordered two YBS fighters to attack the Rudaw team. She herself broke Rudaw's camera and microphone with her own hands; she also ordered the YBS fighters to damage the team's vehicle. They even attempted to kill the Rudaw reporter with a handgun, but some people protected and saved the Rudaw team, saying that the team are Yazidis, "how can you kill them?" The people at the site eventually saved the
Rudaw team.
YBS fighters attacked the Rudaw team with stones. Qasim was seriously injured in the head and suffered injuries to his legs and back. He is now in Shingal's main hospital where he is receiving treatment for his injuries. Rudaw's cameraman Ali Hamas was also slightly injured in the back. Some YBS fighters are still threatening Rudaw's reporter in Shingal.
Hamas said that the YBS fighters confiscated his wallet that included money and also ID cards, including his Iraqi national identification card. They also confiscated three hard drives, broadcast equipment, and a laptop. The YBS fighters damaged the vehicle that belonged to Qasim and confiscated Qasim's and Hamas' vehicle registration documents.
The cameraman added that, following their rescue, they were accompanied by two armed men on their way back to the main hospital in Shingal where Tahsin received treatment.
The only armed group present in the area of the attack is the YBS.
Rudaw Media Network strongly condemns the attack against its team in Shingal, and considers the attack as an attack on the lives of both our colleagues Tahsin Qasim and Ali Hamas. It regards the incident as an armed attempt to prevent the media from doing its job.
Rudaw Media Network has the license to operate in the whole of Iraq, per the license registered by the Iraqi Communication and Media commission.
Since the YBS is operating under the umbrella of the PMF, we call on the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, the commander of the PMF and the Iraqi Communication and Media commission to immediately take action by arresting and bringing to justice those who attacked the Rudaw team; just as Rudaw Media Network calls on them to safeguard the safety of the Rudaw team in the area.
