Yezidi community leader returns to Kurdistan, meets PM Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Sunday, the head of the Kurdish Yezidi (Ezidi) community Mir Tahseen Beg returned to the Kurdistan Region after being abroad for three years receiving urgent medical treatment.

Beg was received by several officials and politicians at the Erbil International Airport (EIA).

He flew to Germany three years ago for medical care.

His return was believed to be related to his deceased wife Tirko Sheikh Jondi who died due to an illness at the age of 75 on Wednesday in the town of Shekhan, Duhok.

Beg is 84-years-old and has been the leader of the Ezidi community since 1944 after the death of his father.

He is also the head of the Ezidi religious council which represents Ezidis in all matters.

Ezidis are estimated to be about one million people all around the world where over half of the population resides in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

On Monday, Beg met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil.

PM Barzani expressed his condolences for the death of the Ezidi leader’s wife.

During the meeting, both sides discussed the current situation of Ezidis, the liberated Ezidi-populated areas, and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) plan to reconstruct the cities.

Sinjar (Shingal) is an important Ezidi city which was occupied by the Islamic State in August 2014 and liberated by Peshmerga forces in November 2015.

Over 85 percent of the city has been destroyed. As a result, only a few families have decided to return to the area.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany