EU reaffirms its support for the Kurdish Yezidi community
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The European External Action Service (EEAS) in a statement on Saturday reiterated its support for the Kurdish Yezidi community.
“The EU stands with the Yazidi community, also by providing substantial financial support, in particular to those leaving the IDP camps. We believe this displacement can end only through inclusive, informed, safe, voluntary, and dignified solutions,” the statement said.
The statement also commended the efforts made by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government to protect and enhance the situation of Yezidis.
Regarding the Sinjar Agreement, EEAS urged both the KRG and Iraqi government to work on the implementation of the agreement as it improves “living conditions in Sinjar and facilitate the return of Internally Displaced People (IDP) from the Yazidi community.”
Praising the achievement of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh, the statement stressed that “The Yazidis are an ancient community, contributing to the diversity of Iraq’s social and cultural fabric.”
On Aug. 3, 2014, ISIS militants attacked the Yezidi-majority town of Sinjar and nearby villages, killing at least 5,000 Yezidis as well as enslaving about 6,000 women and minors. Around 400,000 others were displaced by the offensive.
Most of the religious community fled to the Kurdistan Region, while others resettled in neighboring countries or Western states.
Others were not as lucky and remained stranded in the war zone, where they experienced atrocities and mass executions at the hands of the extremist group for years. Militants subjected women and girls to sexual slavery and human trafficking kidnapped children, forced religious conversions, and executed scores of men.
Over the nine years since then, much of Sinjar remains in rubble, and very few of its former residents have returned to their homes.
The Kurdish-Kurmanji-speaking community has suffered at least 72 genocides.
European countries, including Germany, have hosted a significant number of Yezidis fleeing violence. Nearly 10,000 Yezidis were killed or kidnapped by ISIS.
The United Nations later recognized the atrocities against the Yezidi people as genocide.
More than 3,500 Yezidis have been rescued so far, according to the KRG.
ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a militant extremist group that follows a fundamentalist, Salafi jihadist doctrine of Sunni Islam. It expanded its influence in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. The group is known for its brutal tactics, including mass executions, and aims to establish a caliphate governed by strict Sharia law.