‘Yezidis need to see action,’ says PM Barzani on 8th anniversary of genocide
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Yezidis need to see action after all the suffering they have faced since ISIS launched its genocide against them in 2014, said the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour on Wednesday, the 8th anniversary of that genocide.
“On the 8th commemoration of the Yazidi (Yezidi) genocide, I urge our partners to help the community close this painful chapter, return to their ancestral homeland in Sinjar, and bring justice for victims,” Barzani tweeted on Wednesday night.
He reassured the community that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would do whatever it can to assist them.
A short video in which members of the community recall the tragedy they have suffered accompanied the prime minister’s tweet.
Barzani called on international partners of the Kurdistan Region to help end the suffering of Yezidis, bring justice for the victims, and help facilitate their resettlement in Sinjar.
“After such calamity, Yazidis need to see action,” he tweeted.
The clip also included the number of casualties the Yezidis have suffered and the number of Yezidi women who remain missing.
On the 8th commemoration of the Yazidi genocide, I urge our partners to help the community close this painful chapter, return to their ancestral homeland in Sinjar, and bring justice for victims.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) August 3, 2022
After such calamity, Yazidis need to see action.
We will do everything to help. pic.twitter.com/rArzpieutT
“Today, we have children who do not know the concept of a home,” one man in the video said.
An estimated 300,000 Yezidis remain in displaced person camps in the Kurdistan Region.
Yezidis cannot safely resettle in Sinjar due to the continued instability, presence of armed militia groups, and lack of reconstruction.
On Wednesday, Yezidis in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region commemorated the 8th anniversary of the genocide they suffered in 2014 when ISIS militants assaulted Sinjar. Up to 3,000 Yezidi women and children are still missing since that time.
“It’s been eight years,” said a woman in the video, adding her community’s life is characterized by “pain and grief.”