Yazidi UPDATES genocide has occurred and is ongoing

[Anthea]

Yazidi woman reunites with family

A Yazidi woman who was kidnapped during the Islamic State’s (ISIS) reign of terror in Shingal (Sinjar) in 2014, returned home to Iraq and was reunited with her family on Saturday, a month after she was rescued during an operation in northeast Syria’s al-Hol camp

Iraq’s national intelligence service on Saturday said that Kovan Aidi Khourto was repatriated by their forces, following a directive from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.

“The operation was carried out based on accurate intelligence about her whereabouts in Syrian territory, in order to reach her and return her to Iraq and hand her over to her family,” said the Iraqi intelligence in a statement.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on February 4 announced that Khourto was liberated in al-Hol camp by the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) - the SDF’s all-female partner force.

The YPJ said that the group handed the Yazidi woman to her family on Saturday.

When ISIS swept through the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014, committing genocide, the group abducted 6,417 women and children who were forced into sexual slavery and labour. Around 2,700 of them are still missing. Many have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters.

The sprawling camp has been criticized for its poor conditions and insecurity. Many of the residents still hold ISIS ideology and the camp has been dubbed a breeding ground for terrorism.

Kurdish forces have conducted several security operations in the camp.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/020320242

[Anthea]

Compensation for 14,000 Shingal families

The Iraqi government is assessing 14,000 applications for compensation from Yazidis who fled Shingal during the Islamic State’s (ISIS) reign of terror, a government advisor said on Saturday

“Around 1,000 applications are about to finish and the compensation committee has 14,000 applications to assess,” Khalaf Shingali, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s advisor for Yazidi affairs, told Rudaw.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants seized the Shingal district of northern Iraq, committing genocide against the Yazidi minority. Thousands fled their homes as the militants systematically killed men and older women, and enslaved younger women and children. More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide.

Shingal was liberated from the group in late 2015, but lack of reconstruction, political disputes, and ongoing insecurity have prevented most families from returning to their homes

Baghdad reached a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in October of 2020 over the governance and security of Shingal, dubbed the Shingal agreement, to allow displaced families to return to their homes. Implementation of the deal, however, has been a problem.

There is a myriad of armed forces in Shingal with various allegiances, including the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga, pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), and groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). They gained footholds in Shingal after ousting ISIS.

Under the Shingal agreement, security is Baghdad's responsibility and the federal government was to establish a new armed force recruited from the local population and expel fighters from the PKK and their affiliated groups.

Shingali said that the biggest obstacle to projects in the region is “a lack of an administrative authority,” but said some steps have been taken by both Erbil and Baghdad to implement the Shingal agreement.

“Some points of the agreement have been implemented. For example, 500 police officers have been recruited and 500 more are in training,” he said.

According to Shingali, Sudani also decided to establish a university in Shingal and a piece of land has been allocated to build the campus that will include residential accommodation for staff and students.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/02032024

[Anthea]

Turkish drone kills PKK fighter in Sinjar

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A Turkish drone on Friday targeted a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters in Sinjar district, killing a top official and wounding his bodyguard, according to the Kurdistan Region Directorate General of Counter-Terrorism (CTD)

They were targeted near the village of Zarka in the western Sinjar district at 5:30 pm.

Earlier, on Friday Turkish warplanes killed two people and another injured in Duhok’s Shiladze district.

Bolstered by its advanced drone industry, Turkey has ramped up its drone strikes in recent years, particularly in the urban centers of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, to target suspected PKK positions.

Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on Baghdad, officially in charge of border security affairs, to prevent insurgents and foreign militaries from engaging in hostilities within its territory. Officials have voiced concerns about the increasing presence of foreign militia forces in the area.

Much of the conflict has been fought in the border areas of the Kurdistan Region, which has endangered civilian populations.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/34 ... -in-Sinjar

ALL armed militia, including the PKK, should leave Yazidi lands IMMEDIATELY

[Anthea]

Yezidi IDPs Call for Resignation

of Iraqi Migration Minister

Yezidi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Sinjar held a press conference on Thursday, urging the resignation of Evan Faek Gabro, Iraqi Federal Minister of Displacement and Migration

They've been residing in camps in the Kurdistan Region for almost a decade, yet claim to have received no support from the Federal government, despite legal and moral obligations. The IDPs accuse the minister of pressuring them to return home without provisioning basic necessities.

Among their demands are the implementation of the Sinjar agreement, compensation for damages caused by the 2014 terrorist attack, reconstruction of Sinjar and its environs, provision of essential services, acknowledgment of the Yezidi genocide, and expulsion of militias from Sinjar.

In August 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) militants assaulted Sinjar and nearby areas, resulting in over 5,000 Yezidi deaths and the enslavement of about 6,000 women and minors, displacing around 400,000 others.

Most Yezidis sought refuge in Kurdistan or fled to neighboring nations or Western countries. Some remained in the conflict zone, enduring atrocities such as mass executions and sexual slavery.

The Kurdish Kurmanji-speaking community has suffered at least 72 genocides. European countries, notably Germany, have hosted many Yezidis fleeing violence, with nearly 10,000 killed or kidnapped by IS. The United Nations recognizes these acts against the Yezidi people as genocide, with over 3,500 Yezidis rescued thus far, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/843931

[Anthea]

No justice for ISIS victims

The Yazidi community of Shingal (Sinjar) on Saturday criticized an accord signed by Arab community leaders and Yazidi tribal chiefs calling for harmony in the Yazidi heartland

The accord, titled “Community Harmony in Northern Shingal,” consists of 11 points that focus on renouncing violence and extremism, supporting state institutions in administering the affairs of the town, and calling on Iraqi authorities and the international community to address security concerns and expedite compensating the families of Islamic State (ISIS) victims.

The document was prepared by the United States Institute of Peace in cooperation with the local al-Tahreer Association for Development. The Shingal area is where ISIS committed genocide against the Yazidi minority when it seized control of Nineveh province in 2014. Thousands fled their homes as the militants systematically killed men and older women, and enslaved younger women and children. More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide.

Ten years on, much of the Yazidi community remains displaced, reconstruction has been slow in Shingal where there is still insecurity, and the victims of ISIS are still waiting for justice.

Maysar Murad Qasim, chieftain of Hardan, a Yazidi village in Shingal, said that the tribal leaders who signed onto the accord do not represent the community or families of ISIS victims, adding that no one from the villages and areas most affected by the group’s reign of terror were present at the signing of the document.

“We have no problems with anyone. We just want the ISIS members who are still here to be put on trial and get the punishment they deserve,” Qasim told Rudaw English on Saturday evening.

The local chieftain announced that families of the victims and other members of the community will hold demonstrations in Hardan on Sunday morning to protest the accord, which he said ignores the basic demands of the community. The village is one of the disputed areas in Nineveh.

Among their demands, Qasim said they want the government to finish exhuming mass graves of ISIS victims and to speed up identifying the remains that have been recovered so that families can finally lay them to rest.

“Our bodies have been in Baghdad for two years, but the forensics have only identified 16 of them… The families of the victims have their eyes on this process. They want to know where their loved ones are,” Qasim said.

Murad Ismael, a Yazidi activist, also criticized the accord. He said it failed to acknowledge the Yazidi genocide and stressed that the community will not accept reconciliation as a substitute for justice.

“While it is true we don’t have the military means to get justice as others do, we will not close this page as if nothing happened. If we fail as a generation to get justice for our cause, we will pass it to our children so they can carry on,” Ismael wrote in a Facebook post.

Shingal was liberated from ISIS in late 2015, but lack of reconstruction, political disputes, and ongoing insecurity have prevented most families from returning to their homes.

The newly-appointed Nineveh governor Abdulqadir al-Dakhil also signed the accord on Saturday, hailing “a historic day in Nineveh.”

“We pledge as a local government by signing this accord that we will provide true support to the area,” said Dakhil.

“We are eagerly anticipating the return of Yazidis to Shingal to play a major role in creating the new glory of Nineveh,” said the governor, adding “Ten years after the liberation, the Yazidis are still paying a hefty price by residing in camps and it is our duty to return them to Shingal strengthened and honored.”

There is now a myriad of armed forces in Shingal with various allegiances, including the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga, pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). They gained footholds in Shingal after ousting ISIS.

Dakhil told Rudaw’s Adla Bakir that Shingal continues to be destabilized by political issues and security concerns, but stressed that there are promising initiatives from the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve the issues, including efforts to appoint a head of the administrative unit, which he referred to as “the real key” to addressing the town’s problems.

Baghdad and Erbil signed an agreement in 2020 to normalize the situation in Shingal, but the deal has yet to be implemented.

The agreement includes the withdrawal of all PKK-affiliated forces from the city. Despite both the KRG and the Iraqi government calling on all armed groups to leave Shingal on several occasions, the agreement has been rejected by the PKK and its proxies.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/300320241

[Anthea]

Charshama Sor Holiday

Wednesday 17 April 6774

Hat çarşema sore,

Nîsan xemilandibû bi xore,

Ji batin da ye bi more.

Hat çarşema sor û zere,

Bihar xemilandibû ji kesk û sor û sipî û zere,

Me pê xemilandin seredere.

(Ji Qewlê Çarşemê)

“Sarsal" means the Yazidi New year, which is celebrated on the first Wednesday (April) in the Eastern calendar, corresponding to the Julian calendar. This is a very ancient holiday, which dates back to the ancient cults of Mesopotamia and elements of which are still preserved in many Nations. This holiday is also known under different names: Charshama Sor , Aida Sarsale, Sarsala Tausi Malak, Aida Tausi Malak.

Recently the holiday began to use the name "Charshama Sor", which in Kurmanji is translated as Red Wednesday. It should be noted that the Yezidis themselves also associated this holiday with red. In fact, the word "sor" here means a holiday. Charshama Sor existed in ancient Iran called Chahar, Shanbe Suri that from Pahlavi language is translated as "Wednesday Holiday " or "Holiday of Wednesday". Since calendars in ancient Iran changed, the time of holidays also moved. In the Sasanid era were used two calendars – "iari” 365 days, and “saradhe" duration of 365.24224 days.

As for the celebration of the feast of charshama sor, Yazidis different regions celebrate it differently. According to Yazidi sacred texts, it is a holiday of Tausi Malak (Head of angels), who by the will of God decorates the earth, gives it life.

On the eve of the holiday in every house is preparing food, and on the night of the New Year and with the onset of the day the food is blessed. Yazidis say that the month of Nisan (April) is the bride of the year (bûka salê) and therefore this month Yazidis are strictly forbidden to have a wedding. According to their belief, by April the land should be plowed by peasants and prepared for sowing. At the same time, the Yezidis commemorate their dead. The day before they bake cakes (kulîç), and bread "Savka" (sewke), and distribute them to the people in need or neighbors, and the next morning with fruit and dishes go to the graves of the dead.

Young people go to the field to collect the April red flowers and, tying them in a bunch, hang over the front door as a sign of the consecration of the inhabitants of this house and considered gifts for Tausi Malak. In the morning, all the houses are beautifully decorated, and the hostess brings to the table painted in red, yellow and green eggs, symbolizing the life and diversity of the world. In each village begins universal jubilation. Yazidis form a huge dance and dance to the music of “zurna” and drum.

During this holiday in Lalysh priests read prayers and sacred hymns, and in the evening light oil lamps. Since time immemorial, people have flocked here from all sides, eager for knowledge On the walls of Lalysh and the surrounding buildings in this holiday throughout the valley at night burning wicks. Lalysh valley sparkles with the lights of hundreds of lamps, giving it an amazingly beautiful view.

https://yazidis.info/en/news/104/charshama-sor-holiday

[Anthea]

Yazidis celebrate arrival

of New Year at Lalish

Followers of the Yazidi faith marked the arrival of the Yazidi New Year at the holy Temple of Lalish, with a large number of tourists joining the ethnoreligious minority in celebrating the renewal of life

Yazidis celebrate their New Year on the first Wednesday of April, based on the Julian and Seleucid calendars; an occasion marked by a ceremony held in Lalish Temple in the mountains of Duhok where followers of the religion gather and light candles.

The celebrations continue at home as well, as they prepare traditional dishes, decorate eggs, exchange gifts, and pick flowers and attach them to one’s hair or turban.

Additionally, Yazidis light 366 candles at Lalish for each day of the Yazidi calendar.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday extended his congratulations to Yazidi people all around the world, while delivering a keynote address at the eighth edition of Sulaimani Forum.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/170420241

[Anthea]

Armenia on Yezidi Genocide

In a historic move, the Armenian National Assembly has convened a special session, and unanimously approved a draft resolution to designate August 3 as a day to honor and remember the victims of the Yezidi genocide

The decision comes in recognition of the atrocities faced by the Yezidi community in 2014, when they were targeted in a brutal attack by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Sinjar, Department of Media and Information of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement on Thursday.

The bill, introduced by lawmaker Rostam Bakoyan, garnered widespread support and was passed with a resounding majority of 88 votes in the first reading.

Speaking on behalf of the Armenian government, Deputy Foreign Minister Parver Hovhannisyan emphasized the importance of prioritizing efforts to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity, reaffirming Armenia's commitment to upholding human rights on the global stage.

This resolution builds upon Armenia's longstanding dedication to advocating for justice and recognition for the Yezidi community.

In 2018, the Armenian parliament took a significant step by passing a resolution officially acknowledging the Yezidi genocide in Iraq, and urging the international community to investigate the atrocities committed against this vulnerable minority group.

The Yezidis hold a special place in Armenian society, being the largest religious and ethnic minority in the country. Recognized as a distinct ethnic community, their cultural heritage and contributions enrich the fabric of Armenian society.

Estimates suggest that between 35,000 and 50,000 Yezidis reside in Armenia, underscoring the significance of commemorating their resilience and honoring the memory of those who perished in the genocide.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/845900

[Anthea]

Mass Grave Uncovered in Sinjar

A mass grave has been found in the community of Siba Sheikh Dri in Sinjar during road construction preparations, shedding light on the horrors of the Islamic State (ISIS) onslaught in 2014

PETRICHOR, a human rights organization, has joined the excavation efforts, pledging to focus on specific aspects of the mass grave.

Out of 89 mass graves in Sinjar, 38 have been excavated, allowing the return of 160 individuals' remains to their families. Additionally, 500 remains have been sent to Baghdad's forensic medical examination center for DNA testing.

On August 3, 2014, IS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi population in Sinjar and nearby areas. Over 6,500 Yazidi women and children were kidnapped, while more than 350,000 people were displaced, seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region camps. Tragically, around 2,500 Yazidis remain missing.

The liberation of Sinjar on November 13, 2015, by Peshmerga forces under the leadership of Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Region at the time, marked a significant turning point in the Region's fight against IS terror.

Furthermore, the Sinjar Agreement signed on October 9, 2020, between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad, aimed to tackle governance and security challenges in the Region and the disputed territories, signaling a step towards stability and reconciliation.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/845977