Yezidis urge swift action from Iraqi government in rebuilding Shigur (Shangal / Sinjar) homes destroyed by ISIS

SHIGUR, Iraq — Yezidi community leaders have pressed the Iraqi government to expedite the reconstruction of homes in the Shigur (Shangal / Sinjar) region, decimated during the conflicts of its liberation from the Islamic State (ISIS).

Khairy Ali, among many returning Yezidis, has ventured back to the remnants of his Shigur home from a cramped displacement camp, yearning to rebuild his life. Ali’s plea echoes the collective call for new residences, as he currently resides with his spouse and six children in a single room, grappling with dire circumstances.

In a bid to entice internally displaced Yezidis back to Shigur, the Iraqi government pledged to construct 2,500 to 4,000 housing units for returnees whose homes were ravaged post-ISIS liberation in 2015.

Under an agreement between the Iraqi Ministry of Immigration and local authorities in Nineveh Governorate, the Sinjar and Nineveh Plain Reconstruction Fund will allocate approximately 13 hectares of land for housing unit construction. However, precise timelines for project commencement and completion remain unspecified.

In the 2023 Iraqi Federal Budget Law, provisions were made for the Sinjar and Nineveh Plain Reconstruction Fund, aiming to secure the necessary budget to revitalize the war-torn governorate, with an allocation of billions of dollars.

Raafat Simo, Assistant Governor of Nineveh, stated, “The Nineveh Governorate and the Minister of Immigration have approved the allocation of 50 dunums of land in Sinjar for housing units.” Nayef Sidou, Mayor of Shigur, revealed that 60% of Shigur’s populace still languishes in camps and displaced persons’ shelters in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

The brutal ISIS seizure of Shigur in 2014 forced over 350,000 Yazidis into displacement camps in the KRI. Yet, according to local authorities in Shigur, only about 14,000 families have returned to the city since then.