Yazidi UPDATES genocide has occurred and is ongoing

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Kurdish President pledges
support and unity in Yazidi holiday message

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, President Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdistan Region extended “heartfelt greetings” to the Yazidi community on the occasion of their holiday

In a message shared on X, President Barzani stated, "I warmly congratulate the Prince, religious leaders, and all our Yazidi brothers and sisters in Kurdistan, Iraq, and around the world. I wish you all a joyous holiday and a peaceful celebration."

President Barzani emphasized, "We assure our Yazidi brothers and sisters that Kurdistan will always remain a land of coexistence for all sects. We remain committed to supporting and protecting their rights and legitimate demands. Furthermore, we will continue to work towards improving their living conditions and rebuilding their areas."

https://shafaq.com/en/Kurdistan/Kurdish ... ay-message

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Yazidi ISIS survivors receive salaries

Over 2,000 Yazidi women who survived the Islamic State (ISIS) genocide a decade ago are receiving salaries from the Iraqi government under the Yazidi Survivors Law, enacted over three years ago, a federal official said on Sunday

“So far, 2,228 Yazidi girls and women receive salaries,” Sarab Ilias, head of the Yazidis affairs office at the Iraqi ministry of labor and social affairs, told Rudaw.

“Now we have only about 30 pending applications from Yazidi women,” he added, noting that each survivor receives a monthly salary of 800,000 Iraqi dinar ($615).

The Yazidi Survivors Law, passed in March 2021, seeks compensation for Yazidi survivors of the ISIS atrocities against them when the group attacked the Yazidi heartland of Shingal (Sinjar) in 2014. It abducted thousands of people and almost 3 thousand remain missing.

Though the jihadists no longer control any territory, they continue to pose a security risk by carrying out kidnappings, hit-and-run attacks, and bombings.

Thousands of Yazidis who fled Shingal to the Kurdistan Region have chosen not to return due to security concerns and lack of basic services at home.

Each returning family is given four million Iraqi dinars (about $3,050) along with some basic household items including a fridge, stove, and television.

Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq's migration ministry, said in November that around 10,000 Yazidis had returned to Shingal this year.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/29122024

Their entire lives have been destroyed, $3,050 a fridge, stove, and television is supposed to compensate

The entire world owes the Yazidis a great deal more, especially as everyone sat back and did nothing for more than a week while ISIS was slaughtering Yazidis

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Germany: accused of abusing Yazidi girls

Germany's federal prosecutor on Monday charged an Iraqi couple with enslavement, torture and war crimes, after they allegedly kept two young Yazidi girls as slaves and sexually and physically abused them

The couple, identified as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in line with German privacy law, were arrested in the southern state of Bavaria in April.

The two are also suspected to have been members of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) extremist group in Iraq and Syria between October 2015 and December 2017, the prosecutor said in a statement.

The accusations against the couple?

They allegedly kept a 5-year-old Yazidi girl as a slave starting in late 2015, and a 12-year-old from October 2017.

According to the prosecutor, the couple bought the two children in a bazaar in Iraq.

The man is accused of having raped the girls, while the woman allegedly prepared the room and put makeup on one of the girls.

The couple also exerted "harsh physical violence" on the girls, forcing them to work constantly and subjecting them to beatings, according to prosecutors.

Before they left Syria in November 2017, the suspects allegedly handed the girls over to other ISIS members.

"All of this served the organization's objective to destroy the Yazidi religion," the prosecutor's statement said.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-iraqi-cou ... a-71186224

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Yazidi woman reunites with family

decade after ISIS abduction

Yazidi woman kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 reunited with her family in Shingal’s Kocho village on Sunday after being rescued from Syria’s northwestern Idlib province last month

S.K, the 30-year-old Yazidi woman was rescued from Idlib with the assistance of the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, an organization affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency, office head Hussein Qaidi told Rudaw.

She was kidnapped along with five of her sisters and nearly 700 other women when ISIS militants overran her village on August 15, 2014. She was moved through several locations before ending up in Idlib.

Initially believing she would be taken to Mount Shingal, she was instead transported to Mosul, ISIS’s former stronghold in Iraq. From there, she was moved to Tal Afar in western Mosul and eventually to Raqqa, the group’s former capital in Syria.

“They took me to Mosul and put me in a hall,” she told Rudaw. “I told them that I am sick, take me back to my parents and find my parents, and they took me to Tal Afar and after three months we tried to escape but they sensed us and brought several buses to take us to Raqqa.”

She is the second Yazidi woman to be rescued from Idlib in under a month, after a 29-year-old was rescued on December 9.

ISIS’s assault on Sinjar in 2014 led to the abduction of 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, it continues to pose security risks through sporadic attacks and abductions in the region.

To date, 3,581 Yazidis have been rescued, but 2,590 individuals are still missing, according to statistics provided by Qaidi

Many have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters. Others have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels or Turkish-backed armed groups, and some have been located in third countries.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/05012025

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Yazidi struggle for liberation after genocide

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The head of the Yazidi Rescue Office has expressed optimism about the possible liberation of other Yazidi survivors in Syria, especially following the Assad regime's fall and consequent political changes in the country

In an interview with Kurdistan24 on Sunday, Hussein Alqaidi, head of KRG Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office, specified that the latest developments, including the release of several captives from Syrian detention facilities, have created new opportunities for discovering and rescuing Yazidi captives.

The latest rescue operation resulted in the liberation of Silvana Kheder, a 29-year-old Yazidi woman who endured lengthy captivity under ISIS control.

"I am truly happy at this moment, though this happiness is clouded by the knowledge that my parents and siblings remain missing or in captivity," Silvana revealed to Kurdistan24’s correspondent Maher Shingali.

Her testimony underlines the multifaceted emotional terrain navigated by survivors, balancing personal liberation with continued concern for those still held captive.

"I understand the devastating nature of this captivity, having endured horrific experiences while in their hands. I empathize deeply with the trauma they are enduring, which drives my strong advocacy for their release," she added, stressing the urgent necessity for continuous rescue efforts.

The reunification of Silvana with her sister Moloka epitomizes a rare moment of hope in a decade-long tragedy.

Moloka's determined search for her family members finally yielded results, though their parents and five siblings remain unaccounted for.

"I was always praying for her release. Thank God, she is free now," Moloka stated, her words revealing both relief and continued concern for remaining family members.

According to official records from the Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office, of the 6,417 Yazidis kidnapped by ISIS, 3,584 individuals have been rescued to date.

These statistics underscore the considerable scope of ongoing rescue operations while underlining the significant number of individuals still missing.

The village of Kocho, where Silvana's family originated, stands as a stark testament to the scale of ISIS brutalities.

The entire world are to blame for the attack on Kocho, the ISIS attack on Sinjar had taken place several days earlier but NOBODY did anything to stop ISIS moving on to attack Kocho

The community experienced and grieved the loss and abduction of more than 1,000 residents, with many still unaccounted for a decade later.

This single village represents the broader pattern of systematic violence that characterized the ISIS campaign against the Yazidi community.

The 2014 ISIS assault on Sinjar (Shingal) marked a critical juncture in modern humanitarian crises, initiating a genocidal campaign that continues to echo through Yazidi communities.

The continuous efforts to find and rescue survivors highlight the complex networks of captivity extending across territorial boundaries, especially within Syria's evolving political landscape.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/81 ... s-genocide

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Nadia Murad to Elon Musk’s remarks

Prominent Yazidi activist Nadia Murad on Wednesday reacted to a recent remark by Elon Musk about the 2014 Yazidi genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS), urging awareness to identify early signs of such catastrophes in the future

“What happened was far more than this. It cannot possibly be explained in a single screenshot,” said Murad in response to a post on X by its owner, Musk.

Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and survivor of the ISIS atrocities, reacted to Musk’s post summarizing the Yazidi genocide.

“The savagery, brutality, and barbarity of what ISIS did to us are beyond words. What happened to the Yazidis should never happen to any other community. We can always detect early signs and take action to prevent genocide and sexual slavery,” she noted

Musk’s post was a reaction to a text generated by Grok, X’s AI chatbot, answering the prompt “What happened to the Yazidi people?”

Musk posted, “Could what happened to the Yazidi people one day happen to Europe?”

When ISIS swept through the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014, committing genocide, the group killed an estimated 5,000 mainly men and older women and abducted 6,417 women and children who were forced into sexual slavery and labor.

Several Western countries have officially recognized ISIS crimes against Yazidis as genocide.

Musk has recently faced accusations of thrusting himself into European political discourse, using his platform X to critique European politicians while allegedly supporting far-right movements and white supremacist sentiments. These actions have drawn widespread condemnation from European leaders, who accuse Musk of promoting xenophobic and extremist narratives.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/world/08012025

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Reunited After a Decade in Captivity

Ten years after being abducted by Islamic State (ISIS) militants, Yazidi woman Silvana Khider, 27, has reunited with her family in Iraq

Khider’s return marks the end of a decade-long ordeal that began with her abduction as a teenager and took her across war-torn Syria during the rise and fall of ISIS and the Assad regime. “I am very happy, but also very sad. My father and two of my brothers are dead. My mother and another brother are missing. And I have four sisters in Europe,” Khider said, describing her mixed emotions.

In 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidis in Sinjar province, murdering thousands of men and enslaving thousands of women and girls. Khider, then 17, was taken from her village and sold in markets as a forced bride.

She endured years of captivity, being moved from Sinjar to Tal Afar, then to ISIS’s self-declared capital, Raqqa, before ending up in Baghouz, the group’s final stronghold. Khider lost all contact with her family, who assumed she was dead. “They thought I was dead. They even laid a tomb for me,” she said.

Following ISIS’s territorial defeat in 2019, Khider spent more than four years in Syria’s Idlib province, controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Those years were marked by hunger, fear, and airstrikes. She lived alone in a basement and received some assistance from locals, including a mosque sheik.

With the help of the Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office, Khider began her journey home during the final days of the Assad regime. Her trek took five days, starting in Manbij and passing through Raqqa, Hasake, and Amuda before finally crossing into Iraq.

Her sister, Muluka Khider, also a survivor of ISIS captivity, recalled the moment she learned her sister was alive. “A few days later, I spoke with her by phone. It was a great joy,” Muluka said.

The Yazidi community continues to grapple with the trauma of ISIS’s campaign. Of the 6,416 Yazidis abducted, over 3,500 have been rescued in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, while more than 2,600 remain missing, according to UN data.

For Silvana Khider, the reunion with her family marks a bittersweet closure to years of suffering. However, the fate of her mother and another brother remains unknown. “We don’t know what happened to them. But I don’t think they survived,” Muluka said.

Link to Article and photo:
https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/871888

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KDP Criticizes Neglect of Yezidis

Delayed Sinjar Agreement

ERBIL (KurdistanK24) – Vian Dakhil, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction in the Iraqi Parliament, criticized the federal government for its negligence toward the Yezidi community and the delayed implementation of the Sinjar Agreement

Speaking to Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday, Dakhil stated that Baghdad has failed to uphold the terms of the 2020 Sinjar Agreement, signed under the supervision of the United Nations between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). She accused the central government of showing indifference toward Yezidi affairs and failing to take necessary measures.

“The Iraqi government has disregarded the Yezidi case and the Sinjar dossier,” Dakhil stated. “The Sinjar Agreement was a crucial step to alleviate the suffering of Sinjar residents, yet five years have passed, and no part of the agreement has been fully implemented.”

Dakhil also highlighted Baghdad’s failure to address the plight of Yezidi internally displaced persons (IDPs), noting that for 11 years, the federal government has not provided assistance to the camps in Erbil and Duhok, where thousands of displaced Yezidis remain

She praised President Masoud Barzani and the KDP for making Yezidis and the people of Sinjar feel home in Kurdistan Region, emphasizing the ongoing support of the regional government for the displaced community.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/82 ... ementation

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Yazidi family still struggles

despite surviving ISIS

SHINGAL: Members of a Yazidi family, rescued from ISIS after being kidnapped by the group in 2014, continue to struggle as they live in a tent in poor condition

Omer is from Shingal’s Hamadan village. He is one of the survivors of ISIS atrocities. He was kidnapped along with 11 of his family members by the group in 2014 when he was only 17. Omer was in good condition at the time but lost his memory due to the torture he experience during ISIS captivity.

The young man has lost his speaking ability too

"We were a family of 12. Eleven of us fell under the hands of ISIS. Eight of us have returned, the rest remain. This brother of mine was beaten and tortured by ISIS. He cannot take care of himself and does not know anything. Many times we call him and he does not even understand his name. My other brother’s leg was also wounded in the battle of Baghouz," his sister, Halima, told Rudaw, referring to the last bastion of the group in Syria.

She criticized Iraq for failing to support the family

"They did nothing for him and he is underage. He has not received any aid. The law says he must have a guardian because he is underage, but neither the father nor mother are present for me to provide guardianship," she added.

Barakat is Omer's brother. For five years in Syria, during the battle of Baghouz, he was used as a human shield by ISIS on the frontlines. His leg was injured by a Howitzer shell from the Syrian regime, leading to seven surgeries, with more still needed.

Two brothers and two sisters were freed from ISIS after five years, but the fate of their other family members remains unknown. They currently live in a crumbling tent, facing dire financial hardships

Rudaw English is keeping the siblings' second name private at their request.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/030220253

Disgusting the way Yazidis have been left to suffer for more than 10 years

The coalition were happy to spent a fortune bombing the Yazidi homeland into oblivion as they sort to destroy ISIS

They have done nothing to rebuild the Yazidi's homes and business

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Iraqi MP Urges New Syria to

Rescue Yezidi Women

Iraqi member of parliament Vian Dakhil on Thursday urged Baghdad and Erbil to establish official contact with Syria’s new leadership to take concrete steps in rescuing Yezidi women kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS)

According to Shafaq News, Dakhil addressed a message to Syria’s new Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, stressing the need for immediate efforts to locate and free the abducted women. She emphasized that Syria's ongoing political changes present a new opportunity to resolve the issue.

She called on the Iraqi government to initiate direct talks with Syria’s leadership to facilitate cooperation between Baghdad, Erbil, and Syrian authorities in expediting rescue operations. Dakhil also underscored the Kurdistan Region’s critical role in past rescue missions, praising its continuous efforts to recover kidnapped Yezidis and provide psychological and social support.

ISIS militants attacked Sinjar in 2014, committing mass atrocities against the Yezidi community, including killing at least 3,000 and abducting 5,000 men, women, and children. Many of the kidnapped victims were later transferred to Syria, with their fate still unknown.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/874512

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Iraq Urged to Investigate Fate of

Thousands of Missing Yezidis

Eleven years after the Islamic State (ISIS) kidnapped thousands of Yezidis, the fate of about 3,000 abducted men, women, and children remains unknown, prompting renewed calls for action from Iraqi authorities

Iraqi lawmaker Mahma Khalil urged the federal government and security agencies to intensify efforts to locate and rescue the missing Yezidis. “Most of the abductees are in Syria, and we have called on the National Security Council, the intelligence service, the Foreign Ministry, and the prime minister to develop a plan for their return,” Khalil said.

He noted that many missing Yezidis are believed to be in al-Hol and other camps in northern Syria, where the Islamic State forcibly changed their names and erased their language. “The Iraqi government is constitutionally and legally obligated to investigate the fate of its missing citizens,” he added.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently allocated monthly financial aid for over 3,500 Yezidis who fled the Islamic State

ISIS launched a large-scale assault on Sinjar in August 2014, massacring Yezidis and enslaving thousands. The town was recaptured by Peshmerga forces with US-led coalition support in November 2015, but mass graves and missing persons continue to haunt the community.

In August 2024, the US State Department reported that thousands of Yezidi women and girls were still missing. Iraqi authorities have so far identified 93 mass graves in Sinjar and Baaj, of which 32 remain unexcavated. Fewer than 700 of the missing Yezidis have been found, and only 243 victims have been identified and returned to their families.

The United Nations estimates that the Islamic State left behind over 200 mass graves in Iraq, possibly containing 12,000 bodies.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/874755

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Dire Conditions for Sinjar Displaced

Thousands of displaced Yezidis living in the Sinjar mountains remain without adequate assistance, with Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement failing to address their needs, an Iraqi lawmaker said on Sunday

Vian Dakhil, a member of parliament, said conditions in the Sardasht camp and surrounding areas are poor, and displaced families have received little to no support. “Unfortunately, those who have returned to their homes have NOT been helped so far. They have been displaced for ten years, and their situation remains dire,” Dakhil said.

The humanitarian crisis stems from the Islamic State (ISIS) attack on Sinjar in 2014, during which militants killed at least 3,000 Yezidis and abducted 5,000 others. Many of the kidnapped remain unaccounted for, with some believed to be in Syria.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has set up 15 camps to shelter more than 140,000 Yezidis, while tens of thousands more live outside these facilities. The KRG’s Yezidi rescue office has documented 6,420 missing persons, with 3,570 recovered. A program announced by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will also provide monthly financial aid to 3,000 ISIS survivors.

In August, Safeen Dizayee, head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, accused armed groups of obstructing Sinjar’s reconstruction and preventing Yezidis from returning home. “We need continuous international support to ensure the safe return of these people,” he said, calling for the withdrawal of what he described as “illegal groups occupying Sinjar.”

Despite repeated calls for intervention, many Yezidis remain trapped in difficult conditions, with no clear resolution to their prolonged displacement.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/874879

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Sweden Jails Woman for Keeping

Yazidi Slaves in Syria

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) - A Swedish court on Tuesday sentenced a 52-year-old woman to 12 years in prison on genocide charges, in the country's first court case over crimes committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) group against the Yazidi minority

Accused of keeping Yazidi women and children as slaves at her home in Syria in the winter and spring of 2015, Lina Ishaq was convicted of "genocide" and "crimes against humanity," as well as war crimes, the court said in a statement.

The court said her crimes warranted a sentence of 16 years, but taking a previous sentence into account set the sentence to 12 years.

The woman, who is a Swedish citizen, was in jail having already been sentenced by a Swedish court to six years in prison in 2022 for allowing her 12-year-old son to be recruited as a child soldier for the ISIS.

The court said Tuesday's case concerned nine injured parties, six of whom were children at the time.

"The woman kept them imprisoned and treated them as her property by holding them as slaves for a period of, in most cases, five months," the court said.

Their movement was restricted, they were made to perform chores and some had been photographed in preparation to be transferred to others.

"Given the fact that she participated in the onward transfer of the injured parties, she is also responsible for enabling their continued imprisonment and enslavement," the court said.

The court stressed "that the comprehensive system of enslavement" was one of "the crucial elements" implemented by ISIS in "the perpetration of the genocide, the crimes against humanity and gross war crimes that the Yazidi population was subjected to."

As such, the court said "the woman shared the ISIS intent to destroy a religious group".

Around 300 Swedes or Swedish residents, a quarter of them women, joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq, mostly in 2013 and 2014, according to Sweden's intelligence service Sapo.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/82 ... yria-court

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Iraq's Amnesty Law: kidnappers and

enslavers of Yazidi women excluded

Shafaq News/ Iraq's General Amnesty Law does not apply to those convicted of kidnapping and enslaving Yazidi women and other groups, the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation confirmed on Tuesday

The head of the center, Ali Hussein Jaffat, met with Sarab Alias, Director-General of the Directorate for Survivors Affairs at the Ministry of Labor, at the center's building, according to a statement from the Iraqi judiciary.

During the meeting, Jaffat confirmed, “Perpetrators of the crimes of kidnapping and enslavement of Yazidi women are not covered by Amnesty Law No. 27 of 2016, particularly the recent amendment passed by the Iraqi parliament on January 21, 2025. Article 9, paragraph one, of Yazidi Survivors Law No. 8 of 2021 explicitly states that those involved in the kidnapping and enslavement of Yazidi women are excluded from any general or special amnesty.”

For her part, Alias expressed gratitude for the cooperation and assistance in documenting the “horrific crimes” committed against Yazidi women

A subsequent meeting was reportedly held at the National Center with several civil society organizations focused on supporting the Yazidi community and other groups. The discussion centered on survivors subjected to slavery and rape by ISIS members, while also addressing the preservation of evidence for the survivors by the center in line with international standards and the documentation of testimonies.

https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Iraq-s-Amnes ... n-excluded