Yezidis in Shengal (Sinjar) call on Iraqi and Kurdistan governments not to interfere in their affairs

SHENGAL, Iraq — In a public statement, member of Yezidi House Anwar Khalaf stated that the Yezidi people in Shengal (Sinjar) want to be in control of their own security. Yezidis will no longer rely on others who have repeatedly failed them for their protection, said Khalaf, and they will not allow any external force to enter Shengal.

“Where was Baghdad when the Islamic State attacked Shengal and kidnapped our women and children,” Khalaf said forcefully. “After the Yezidis established their autonomous administration and began to protect themselves, the Iraqi government concludes agreements on Shengal’s account to enter it again.”

“When the Iraqi government rescues the women who have been kidnapped by ISIS, then it has the right to talk about Shengal,” he added, indicating that the Erbil–Baghdad agreement on Shengal was made on the false pretext of a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK) presence in the area.

“Shengal will be defended by its sons and daughters,” he stated.

In Amuda in Noth and East Syria, Wansa Khalil, a member of a Yezidi women’s organization, denounced the Erbil–Baghdad agreement and accused both governments of seeking to oppose their will on the Yezidi people. The Yezidi people will not leave Shengal to them and will not abandon their customs, traditions, and religion, she said.

“We will support the Yezidis of Shengal until victory is achieved,” she added.