VIDEO: ‘US will ensure Ezidis return safely to Shingal’

WASHINGTON, United States (Kurdistan24) – A US Ambassador recently stated that the United States is working on ensuring Yezidi (Ezidi) people are able to safely return to Sinjar (Shingal).

David N. Saperstein, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, told Kurdistan24 during a live broadcast that his committee is beginning plans for a post-Islamic State (IS) Middle East.

Saperstein said that the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty movement is creating strategies to help those religious minorities affected by IS, especially the Ezidis.

“[We want to] map out our strategies and implement plans to help create conditions that, after [IS] is pushed out, would allow religious minorities like Ezidis to return safely to Sinjar,” he revealed.

“We were all extraordinarily proud that the President of the United States responded so forcefully and so quickly saying this is genocidal activity and he would intervene,” the Ambassador continued.

“This year’s report [will] go into significant detail as to what the situation is in Sinjar, what the situation is with the Ezidi people, and lifting up that plight for the entire world to see,” he added.

Saperstein, an American rabbi and Jewish community leader, also praised the Kurdistan Region for its “hospitality and openness” in accepting refugees since the emergence of IS in Iraq.

He agreed that Kurdistan deserves support especially since they’ve generously housed millions of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“Kurdistan needs more support from the international community…to hold in place these large populations, nearly a million people Kurdistan has taken in,” Saperstein stated.

“We’re very clear about our abiding appreciation to Kurdistan,” the Ambassador added. “The hospitality and generous spirit of Kurdistan was extraordinary.”

He also pointed to the upcoming Mosul offensive and said Kurdistan will likely protect even more refugees and IDPs.

“Kurdistan again has taken the lead, working with the international community to begin to prepare three major camps to house [Mosul refugees],” Saperstein concluded.

(Kurdistan24 team in Washington, DC conducted the interview)