PM Barzani discusses Sinjar agreement with Mir of the Yezidis

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday received Hazim Tahsin Beg, the Mir of the Yezidis, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

PM Barzani reiterated the KRG’s support for the rights of the Yezidi people and stressed the importance of implementing the Sinjar agreement, by removing the outlawed groups and militias from Sinjar, as well as securing and normalizing the town to facilitate the return of the IDPs to their homes, the statement added.

The Mir of the Yezidis expressed his gratitude for the KRG's continuous support of the Yezidis and for employing them in government institutions, per the statement. 

There are approximately 500,000 Yazidis living in Iraq. More than 70%, or 360,000, of them, are still residing in camps in the Kurdistan region, according to figures released KRG. Another 100,000 Yezidis live outside Iraq.

Thousands of Yezidi women were sexually enslaved by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which was defeated in 2017 by Kurdish and Iraqi forces, with the support of the US-led coalition.

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 Yazidi people as genocide.

More than 3,500 Yezidis have been rescued so far, according to the KRG.