Kurdish leaders extend condolences to family of deceased Yezidi leader

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Senior leaders in the Kurdistan Region on Monday have extended their condolences to the family of Mir Tahseen Beg, the leader of the Yezidi (Ezidi) community in the world, who passed away in Hanover aged 86.

“My deepest condolences to the people of Kurdistan in general and the [Ezidi] community in particular for the loss of Prince Tahseen Said Ali Beg today,” the President of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, tweeted on his official Twitter account.

Beg had been the leader of Ezidis around the world since 1944, following the death of his father. He was also the head of the Ezidi Supreme Spiritual Council.

“We share our grief and sympathy with his family and all the people of Kurdistan and [Ezidis] in Kurdistan and the world,” Masrour Barzani, the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), said in a separate statement.

There are about one million Ezidis worldwide, with almost half of them living in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, also sent his condolences to Beg’s family and all Ezidis around the world.

Barzani stated the former Ezidi leader’s role was not only well-known among Ezidis, but that Beg also “played a key role in the Kurdish struggle and movement” in the past, which later forced him to flee from one country to another.

The Kurdish politician added that Beg was well respected in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as an influential figure who always tried to promote social harmony and a culture of coexistence between the different ethnic and religious groups in the country.

Ezidis form one of the most notable religious minority in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, primarily residing in the provinces of Nineveh and Duhok.

Editing by Nadia Riva