More countries recognize Yezidi Genocide on 9th anniversary of Islamic State invasion of Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar)

LONDON / NORTH AND EAST SYRIA / SHIGUR, Iraq — As the 9th anniversary of the Yezidi Genocide committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) approaches, more international governments are acknowledging these heinous violations and officially describing them as genocide.

Nine years have passed since the crimes of genocide and murder that thousands of Yezidis endured at the hands of ISIS during its attack on the city of Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar), Iraq, on 3 August 2014. ISIS took control of large parts of the region, causing immense suffering to the Yezidi ethnic minority concentrated on and around Shigur Mountain in Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. During the attack, hundreds of men and children were killed, and thousands of women and children were kidnapped and held as captives.

The Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) in North and East Syria issued a statement marking the anniversary of the genocide. The statement condemned the crimes committed against the Yezidi community by ISIS, with support from regional and international powers. The TEV-DEM statement explicitly drew attention to Turkey’s complicity in the crimes and its continued targeting of the Yezidi community in Shigur.

The statement emphasized the Yezidi community’s history of resistance and struggle, calling on the international community to protect minorities and fulfill its duties to prevent genocide and massacres.

The British government also officially recognized the 2014 ISIS atrocities against the Yezidis as genocide, according to Minister of Middle East Affairs Tariq Ahmed.

The Yezidi Survivors’ Law was passed by the Iraqi government in March 2021 with the aim of offering reparations to those who endured the atrocities. Nevertheless, there have been apprehensions expressed by rights organizations regarding the requirement for survivors to lodge a criminal complaint to qualify for assistance.