Ezidi MP: KRG rescued 2,400 Ezidis from IS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The federal government of Iraq has done nothing to reconstruct Sinjar (Shingal) since the city was liberated from the Islamic State (IS) five months ago, said a Kurdish Yezidi (Ezidi) MP on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24, Sheikh Shamo, an Ezidi member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament, stated that 5,000 people have returned to their homes in northern Shingal so far. Shamo believes that several others are expected to return in the coming months, but pointed to the worrying living conditions in the city.

“Sinjar is destroyed for the most part and people need basic services such as electricity and water to be able to live there,” he said.

Citizens remain confident in the security of the area “as Peshmerga have destroyed the myth of Da’esh [IS] and are now in charge of the security of the city,” Shamo said.

He noted that unofficial statistics show 6,000 Ezidi prisoners were under the control of IS, 2,400 of whom are now freed, thanks to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) who rescued the kidnapped Ezidis.

He also added that that almost 3,600 remain in captivity by IS.

Regarding the affair of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Kurdistan Region, Shamo said that 56 schools have been opened for Ezidi children, and as a result nearly 28,000 Ezidi children receive a proper education.

He reported that some groups are attempting to impose themselves on Shingal with the support of Baghdad and Iran. Shamo claimed that Iran wants to take control of Shingal Mountain, a place the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used to threaten Israel with missiles.

He believes that the above scenario is true because Baghdad has done nothing for Shingal since the city was liberated from IS on November 2015.

The MP pointed out that Ezidis have lost hope in Baghdad to reconstruct Shingal, but they still hope that the Kurdistan Region will help them since Peshmerga forces liberated the city.

He also mentioned that KRG has opened an international corridor for the humanitarian organizations to help rebuild Shingal, a city 80 percent destroyed.

Shingal was invaded by IS on August 2014. On Nov. 13, 2015, the city was liberated by the Peshmerga forces with the aerial support of the international coalition warplanes.

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany