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Rudaw Net
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Yazidi men freed from ISIS captivity, reunite with families after years of separation
Also in Syria Damascus censures SDF 'calls for federalism' following Kurdish unity conference President Barzani praises Rojava's Kurdish conference Kurds unite behind vision for decentralized Syria SDF chief says division of Syria not goal of pan-Kurdish conference A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have rescued two Yazidi men from the grip of the Islamic State (ISIS) after years in captivity, an affiliate of the Iraqi labor ministry confirmed to Rudaw on Sunday. This marks the second such rescue by the SDF in under two weeks. The individuals, identified by Rudaw by their initials D.R. and O.K., were reunited with their families under the supervision of the Yazidi Affairs Office, an affiliate of the Iraqi ministry of labor. Born in 2003, D.R. is from the village of Kocho (Kojo), while O.K., born in 2006, hails from the village of al-Wardiya. Both villages are located in the predominantly Yazidi district of Shingal (Shingal) in northern Iraq. In June 2014, ISIS seized control of large swathes of territory in Iraq's north and west. A little over a month later, in August, the group launched a wide-scale attack against the Yazidi community in Iraq's northern Shingal. The rescued captives, D.R. and O.K, 'were kidnapped by ISIS militants in 2014,' Sarab Ilias, head of the Yazidis affairs office at the Iraqi ministry of labor told Rudaw on Sunday. 'Unfortunately, during [the military] operations and bombings, D.R. lost a leg and O.K. lost an arm,' Ilias explained, adding that the two men were 'reunited with their families,' who currently reside in Shingal and the Qadiya camp located in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province. Notably, this is the second such operation led by the Kurdish-led SDF in less than two weeks. The SDF in mid-April announced that they had rescued a Yazidi man who had been abducted by ISIS around 11 years ago, when he was just eight years old. The Kurdish-led force then said that its military units carried out a 'special security operation' to free the kidnapped Yazidi identified as O.K. O.K. was quoted by the SDF statement as sharing the harrowing story of his abduction by ISIS. 'I was born in 2006, and I was just a child when ISIS kidnapped me in 2014. ISIS captured me and my family, but separated me and my brother.' He said that he was held in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which ISIS in 2014 declared as the capital of its proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He remained in Mosul for three months before being separated from his brother and transferred, along with 60 other Yazidi children, to the city of Albu Kamal in eastern Syria. 'After arriving in Al-Bukamal, ISIS subjected us to a three-year religious indoctrination course. I was given the name 'Osama al-Sinjari.' Then we were moved to the Syrian desert for another three years of military training,' he recounted. O.K. noted that near the end of 2024 and 'while I was getting treatment at one of the ISIS hideouts in the Homs desert, the hideout was struck by an intense airstrike from the [US-led] Global Coalition [to Defeat ISIS], which resulted in the death of 20 terrorists, including high-ranking commanders.' 'I miraculously survived the bombing,' he said, expressing his relief and gratitude toward the SDF for 'liberating him and thousands of other Yazidis, particularly women, from the grip of ISIS.' ISIS's 2014 assault on Shingal resulted in the abduction of 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Despite being territorially defeated in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019, ISIS continues to pose a security threat in the region. The United Nations has recognized the systematic targeting of the Yazidis as genocide. Up to 200,000 Yazidis were displaced from Shingal, many of whom now live in camps across the Kurdistan Region, particularly in Dohuk province. As of now, 2,590 Yazidis remain missing, according to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Albert Pujols to manage Dominican Republic in 2026 World Baseball Classic: Report
The Dominican Republic has a new manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and it stands to be a popular hire. Albert Pujols has been chosen to take over the D.R.'s dugout as it attempts to win its second WBC title, according to ESPN. Nelson Cruz, the team's general manager reportedly plans to make an official announcement by the end of March. Pujols just finished up his first stint as a manager, leading the Leones del Escogido to their first title in more than a decade in the D.R.'s LIDOM this winter. On the national team, Pujols will take over for Rodney Linares, currently the Tampa Bay Rays' bench coach. The team is coming off a disappointing 2023 WBC in which it shockingly failed to make it out of group play due to losses to Venezuela and Puerto Rico. In the five holdings of the WBC since 2006, the international baseball powerhouse has won only once, its undefeated run in 2013. That was also the last time it even reached the semifinals, which it has only done so twice. The 2026 team has plenty of potential players who could try to break that slump. The 2023 team featured Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, Manny Machado, Sandy Alcantara and Cristian Javier, and there are other Dominican players out there such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., José Ramírez and Elly De La Cruz, Luis Castillo, Framber Valdez and Emmanuel Clase. Some of those players play the same position, but part of Pujols' job will be to get as many of them on the field as possible for the WBC. Pujols was a member of the D.R.'s first WBC team in 2006, but didn't play in another one for the rest of his career.
