Humanitarian

'ISIS killed my father, husband, and two brothers': female survivor

With UNITAD's support, the KRG has been able so far to document more than 70,000 ISIS crime cases and make them electronic.

Dler S. Mohammed 2022/01/12 13:19

Kurdistan 24 correspondent Azar Faruq, interviewing survivors of ISIS crimes at Hassan Sham camp, Jan. 11, 2022. (Photo: Azar Faruq/Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Hassan Sham camp ISIS ISIS crimes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has formed several teams to collect evidence of ISIS crimes in cooperation with the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD).

With UNITAD's support, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been so far able to document more than 70,000 ISIS criminal cases and digitize that documentation.

"The most important part of our work with UN about investigating ISIS crimes is the documentation of these crimes in one information center and saving an electronic copy of these documents," Dindar Zebari, the KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, told Kurdistan 24 correspondent Azar Faruq.

Faruq visited Hassan Sham, a displaced person camp. There he interviewed an Arab woman named Anwar Sultan. ISIS murdered Sultan's husband, father, and two brothers.

"When ISIS militants invaded Nineveh province, we were in Mosul city, where they first killed my father and two brothers, and then they kidnapped my uncle and husband and later killed them as well," Sultan told Faruq.

Anwar Sultan, a Yezidi survivor at Hassan Sham IDP camp, Jan. 11, 2022. (Photo: Azar Faruq/Kurdistan 24) — Anwar Sultan, a survivor of ISIS atrocities at Hassan Sham IDP camp, Jan. 11, 2022. (Photo: Azar Faruq/Kurdistan 24)

"ISIS militants tortured me a lot and told me that my husband is an infidel," she said. "ISIS burnt all my family's IDs, and I have no home to go back to in Mosul."

Faruq saw how the victims are still traumatized from the crimes perpetrated against them.

Kids at Hassan Sham camp, Jan. 11, 2022 (Photo: Azer Faruq/Kurdistan 24)

"Every single one of them has a heartbreaking story from ISIS time to tell," Faruq reported. "They received no support from the Iraqi federal government, and they have nothing left at home to go back to."