KRG will do whatever it can to alleviate Yezidi suffering: PM Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani vowed that his government would do whatever it can to alleviate the suffering of the Yezidi (Ezidi) community on Tuesday, the Yezidi Peak of Summer festival. 

The prime minister extended his “warm congratulations” to the Yezidis in the Kurdistan Region and around the globe, expressing his hope that the followers of the faith could celebrate the feast in a peaceful atmosphere. 

Known in Kurdish as Çileya Havînê Feast, the festival marks the 40th day of summer. It is celebrated on Aug. 2 every year. Yezidis believe attending the event is a way to atone for one’s sins. 

Thousands of followers participate in the festival each year, which is held at Lalish Temple in the Duhok Province’s Shekhan. 

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also congratulated the Yezidis on Tuesday and reiterated pledges to bring back missing Yezidis.

The Yezidis of Sinjar were subjected to a campaign of genocide by ISIS beginning in August 2014. Thousands of Yezidi women were sexually enslaved by the militants. The fate of thousands more remains unknown.

The Yezidis have endured more than 70 genocides throughout their history.

Many Yezidis still reside in the displaced person camps in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province. Continued instability and lack of reconstruction in Sinjar have made it difficult for Yezidis to return. 

Furthermore, recent clashes between Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated militias and the Iraqi Army once again displaced Yezidis who had attempted to return home.