Alleged Turkish strike targets Sinjar for second time in a week
"Turkish warplanes attacked Khanasor village in Sinjar district today, targeting the Lalish Culture Center."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An alleged Turkish strike hit an undefined target in the village of Khanasor in Iraq’s disputed district of Sinjar (Shingal) on Saturday.
The most likely target of the strike were fighters from the Yezidi (Ezidi) Protection Units (YBS) group, made up of members of the beleaguered religious minority.
The village of Khanasor is under YBS control. The local Hawar News Agency reported that the Turkish strike hit the People’s Council building of Khanasor.
Also, on Tuesday, a Turkish strike killed a local YBS commander.
Read More: Alleged Turkish strike kills Yezidi militia commander in Iraq’s disputed Sinjar
"Turkish warplanes attacked Khanasor village in Sinjar district today, targeting the Lalish Culture Center. A few days ago a Yazidi commander of the Sinjar protection forces was also targeted," German-based Yezidi activist Zidan Ismail told Kurdistan 24.
"Many Yazidi families want to return to Sinjar, but are very afraid and believe that they will lose their lives as a result of the ongoing Turkish bombing on the city of Sinjar and its villages," he added.
"We call on the international community to prevent Turkish aggression against the Yazidis."
“It is an absolute abomination that Turkey is conducting bombings and targeted assassinations of Yezidis – genocide survivors – in Sinjar,” Pari Ibrahim, the Founder and Executive Director of the Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF), told Kurdistan 24.
“I don’t know how else to say this to get the attention of the international community. Yezidis fear these airstrikes in Sinjar,” she said.
“It is intolerable – a NATO member conducting airstrikes while the rest of our allies are trying to facilitate the safe return of Yezidi IDPs (internally displaced persons).”
The YBS consists of members of the Yezidi religious minority group. It is seen as a close associate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that has led a decades-long insurgency against Ankara for Kurdish rights in Turkey.
