Iraqi Parliamentarian Dakhil Calls for Urgent Reconstruction in Sinjar, Slams Baghdad’s Neglect

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Vian Dakhil, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, on Thursday stressed the urgent need to provide basic services in Sinjar before internally displaced persons (IDPs) can safely return to their homes.

Speaking at a press conference, Dakhil underscored that reconstruction and infrastructure are essential to the return process. “Before the IDPs can return, we must rebuild schools, hospitals, and public spaces in Sinjar, as well as provide electricity and water for its residents. They cannot return to live amid the rubble of collapsed buildings,” she said.

The KDP lawmaker emphasized that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has continued to extend assistance to Sinjar by sending medical professionals, experts, and staff to support displaced Yezidi families. She accused the federal government in Baghdad of neglecting its responsibilities.

“What supports us [Yezidis] is the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Iraqi government has done nothing for us,” Dakhil reiterated.

She affirmed that the Iraqi parliament, with the backing of the KDP faction, will make every effort to facilitate the safe and dignified return of Sinjar’s displaced families, most of whom have endured years of hardship since ISIS’s 2014 attack on the region.

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 ten 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.