Turkey prevents Yazidis returning home
Turkey has been accused of deliberately preventing the return of Yazidi people to their Shengal homeland after three people were killed in an air strike on a busy marketplace on Monday
The Shengal resistance units (YBS), the reported target of the attack, accused the Turkish state of continuing its attempted genocide of the Yazidi people and their right to self-governance.
YBS commander Seid Hesen and his nephew were killed, along with Shengal women’s unit (YBJ) fighter Isa Xwededa, when a missile struck their vehicle in the bazaar in Shengal city centre.
At least three civilians were injured in the blast which took place shortly after noon, when the marketplace was packed during lunchtime trading.
The YBS said that Mr Hesen was assassinated by the “fascist Turkish state” for his role as a commander in the self-defence of the Yazidi people, in which he had played a leading role on the front line of the resistance.
“He became the voice of his people, putting the words of the Yazidi people’s pain into the political sphere. He inspired faith in his people for the defence of the Yazidis,” a YBS press statement said.
The armed resistance group warned that Mr Hesen’s death would not go unanswered and vowed to keep the resistance going “until the fascist Turkish state is defeated.”
The YBS was formed in 2007 and led the fight against Isis in the region as the murderous Islamist group swept across whole swathes of Syria and Iraq.
Part of the Yazidi militia joined the Iranian-backed popular mobilisation forces (PMF) earlier this year, forming the 80th Regiment as a step toward integration into the Iraqi armed forces.
Its women’s militia, the YJS, was formed in January 2015, five months after the genocide at the hands of the jihadists had begun.
Thousands of Yazidi men and boys were killed by the jihadists, who deemed them “infidels;” women and girls were sold into sexual slavery. More than 3,000 remain missing.
The YBS forces insist their fight is not merely defensive in nature, arguing that Yazidi self-governance is necessary to prevent another massacre. The militia promised to step up efforts to “establish a democratic, free, autonomous Shengal and defend our people,” after Monday’s attack.
This has put it at odds with regional powers. In October a so-called security deal was struck between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government aimed at disarming local militia and reasserting KDP authority.
But the agreement, and the imposition of an unelected KDP mayor, has been rejected by the Yazidi community, who were not involved in the discussions.
Erdogan wants to finish Yazidi genocide
The Erdogan regime wants to finish the Yazidi genocide that ISIS left incomplete
FCK-BW-BAYERN co-chairs released a written statement concerning the Turkish state’s genocidal attacks against the Yazidis in Shengal (Sinjar) town of southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
The statement emphasized that, “By murdering the civilian population, the Erdogan regime wants to finish the Yazidi genocide that ISIS left incomplete. Our Yazidi people, who have attained a stronger and freer power by reorganizing themselves, are struggling to survive amid inhuman proxy wars.
The Yazidis have shown the world that they will not be defeated despite the fascist powers and states that are trying to exist in the region through occupation and colonial policies,” the statement said.
CALL FOR SOLIDARITY
The statement continued, “The fascist Turkish state and its AKP-MHP government are doing their best to complete the genocide that ISIS failed to finish.
The Kurdish people will continue their heroic resistance as they did in the past, in response to the attacks and genocide attempts by the colonial regional countries in the Middle East endorsed by powers such as the US, EU and UN. Every martyr of the Kurdish people will represent a step forward and a gain for this cause.
Therefore, we call on all people and circles who support peace, justice and equality, especially the people of Kurdistan, to show solidarity and to protect humanity in the person of our Yazidi people.”
Yazidis are still under threat
The aim of the attacks on Shengal is the destruction of Kurdish consciousness
The Shengal region in southern Kurdistan is under permanent threat. After the ISIS genocide that began in 2014 and the subsequent defense and liberation of the region, the main Yazidi settlement area is now the focus of Turkey and its allies.
On August 16, an airstrike in the old town of Shengal killed two members of the Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ). A day later, eight people were killed and four others were injured in the bombing of the hospital in the village of Sikêniyê. These attacks took place in the context of a meeting between the United States and Turkey and a visit to Shengal by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
"It's about destroying this ancient faith"
Part of the point of the attacks is to destroy this ancient land and this ancient faith. The Yazidis have experienced 74 massacres and genocides so far. The reason for these mass killings is that the Yazidis do not accept Islam and continue their lives with their own faith, unlike most weak Kurds who pretend to except Islam while going against it's ideology.
A politician pointed out that the self-rule of the region disturbs Turkey's power interests, stating, "They feel threatened because this is a people that is beginning to consider itself a subject in the Middle East. Turkey is trying to destroy Kurdish consciousness by expanding attacks." This policy, he said, is rooted in the monist stance of the Turkish state, which does not tolerate any other than the Turkish Sunni one.
Islam is said to be a religion of peace, but at the point we are at today, it is repeatedly conveyed as a war-oriented religion obsessed with bloodshed. In fact, the ISIS mentality persists. ISIS is shedding blood and governments and their bosses are doing it through their policies. Why don't they accept the other? This concept of power and domination continues through history."
"Everyone must take responsibility"
Güzel appealed to international powers, saying, "Nothing can be achieved through war. The solution should not be seen in war. The pain and destruction of Shengal are very bitter. Everyone must take responsibility for this and act accordingly."
Yazidis return to Shengal despite Turkish attacks
ISIS mercenaries brutally attacked Shengal and South Kurdistan on 3 August 2014, killing thousands of Yazidis and kidnapping thousands of women. Tens of thousands of Yazidi families in Shengal were forced to migrate to camps in both West and South Kurdistan due to the attacks
Shengal Autonomous Administration is preparing to welcome and support families returning to the region. According to the information provided by the residents of Shengal, 5-10 families leave the camps every day in South Kurdistan to return to their villages in the north and south of Shengal mountains.
However, the invading Turkish state constantly attacks Shengal.
A citizen named Feqîr Ilyas, who returned to his home in Xanesor in September 2020, stated that he was very happy to return and called on the refugees staying in the camps to do the same.
The invading Turkish state attacked the old bazaar in the center of Shengal on 16 August and targeted the vehicle in which Said Hesen, one of the commanders of the Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ), was traveling in. Said Hesen and his nephew, Isa Xwede, a YBŞ fighter, lost their lives in the attack. Turkey then targeted the hospital in the village of Sikêniyê on 17 August. Eight people, including YBŞ fighters and health workers, lost their lives.
Ebdo Şukur, spokesperson of the Shengal Assembly Migrants Reception Committee, stated that the return of refugees to their lands is the greatest response to the attacks by the invading Turkish state.
Protest attacks against Yazidis
Kurdish youth in France held a march in protest at Monday’s attack against a Yazidi camp in Zakho, and hung a banner on the Turkish Consulate office, reading, “Murderous Turkish state will be brought to account”.
Kurdish youth in France held a march in protest at Monday’s attack against a Yazidi camp in Zakho, and hung a banner on the Turkish Consulate office, reading, “Murderous Turkish state will be brought to account”.
BORDEAUX
The Revolutionary Youth Movement (TCŞ) activists gathered in Bordeaux city of France and protested the Turkish state’s attack on Qadiya Yazidi Camp in Zakho city of southern Kurdistan.
The activists hung banners on the Turkish Consulate Office, reading “Murderous Turkish state will be brought to account” and “L'Etat turc massacre des civils dans des camps de réfugiés kurdes” (Turkish state massacres civilians in Kurdish refugee camps).
The activists called on the youth of Kurdistan to take to the streets.
EVRY
In Evry suburb of Paris, capital city of France, Kurdish citizens held a march in protest at the attack against the Yazidi Qadiye camp.
The crowd displayed banners reading “No to the 75th genocide”, and “Vengeance”, and chanted slogans as “Bijî Berxwedana Şengalê” (Long live Shengal resistance), “Vengeance” and "Terrorist Erdogan".
The activists blocked the traffic at Grigny Rise Origins Junction for a while as they called on the French government not to remain silent against the massacres.
Invading Turkish state attacks Shengal
The invading Turkish state attacked the security point in the village of Barê in Shengal with a drone. There is wounded
The invading Turkish state attacked a point belonging to the Êzidxan public order in the evening.
After the attack on the security point in the village of Barê in Shengal, air activity in the region continues.
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