Latest news with #Yazidi-majority
Shafaq News
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
President Barzani demands full implementation of Sinjar agreement
Shafaq News – Erbil On Sunday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani called on the Iraqi government to remove all armed factions from Sinjar, warning that their presence continues to block stability and reconstruction efforts in the Yazidi-majority district. Marking the 11th anniversary of the ISIS massacre in Sinjar, Barzani described the 2014 attack as a 'heinous crime,' reaffirming the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s commitment to supporting the Yazidi community. 'Nearly half of the Yazidi population is still living in camps under severe economic, social, and psychological conditions,' Barzani stated, urging Baghdad to take stronger action to compensate Yazidi families and prevent Sinjar from remaining 'a stronghold for militias and regional power struggles.' ئه‌مڕۆ يادى به‌ئازارى يازده ساڵه‌ى جينۆسايدى ئێزدييان ده‌كه‌ينه‌وه و به ڕێز و وه‌فادارييه‌وه قوربانييانى ئه‌و تاوانكارييه‌ى داعش، به‌بير ده‌هێنينه‌وه. پابه‌ندى پێشكه‌شكردنى هه‌موو پشتگيرييه‌كين بۆ هاووڵاتييانى ئێزديمان و وێڕاى هه‌موو ئازاره‌كانى ڕابردوو، به ئومێده‌وه له… — Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) August 3, 2025 Calling for the full implementation of the 2020 Sinjar Agreement, which aims to restore local governance, bolster security, and enable the return of displaced residents, Barzani pressed for the restoration of services, justice for victims, and accountability for those responsible for the 2014 atrocities. He also thanked the Global Coalition for its role in defeating ISIS, underlining the KRG 's ongoing commitment to the Yazidis. 'We will not stop working to free the kidnapped and uncover the fate of the missing,' he concluded. The August 2014 ISIS offensive on Sinjar resulted in mass executions, abductions, and the enslavement of thousands of Yazidis. Kurdish Peshmerga forces retook the district in late 2015, and two years later, Iraqi forces declared the full liberation of Nineveh and the defeat of ISIS. More than a decade later, many Yazidi families are still searching for missing relatives. As of August 2025, official figures estimate that nearly 2,600 women and girls remain unaccounted for. Recovery efforts are ongoing, with authorities continuing to exhume and identify remains from mass graves scattered across the region. According to United Nations estimates, ISIS left behind more than 200 mass graves in Iraq, believed to contain up to 12,000 victims.
Shafaq News
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Kurdistan President greets Yazidis on Midsummer, vows to uphold their rights
Shafaq News – Erbil The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, offered warm greetings to the Yazidi community on Saturday in celebration of the Midsummer holidays, reaffirming the region's commitment to protecting their rights and fostering coexistence. 'I extend my warmest congratulations to our fellow Yazidis in Kurdistan and around the world. I wish everyone a joyous holiday," the President said in a statement. He further pledged continued support for the community, stating, 'We will steadfastly champion and safeguard their rights, ensuring that Kurdistan continues to be a place of harmony for all its communities.' The statement ended with a message of goodwill, 'Wishing you all a happy celebration. The Kurdistan Region is home to a significant Yazidi population, many of whom were displaced or targeted during the Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in 2014. The regional government has since undertaken efforts to support their return, reconstruction of Yazidi-majority areas, and the preservation of their religious and cultural identity.
Shafaq News
11-05-2025
- Shafaq News
Witness to horror: Yazidi survivor's harrowing ISIS testimony
Shafaq News/ An Iraqi court heard the testimony of a Yazidi woman survivor as part of international legal proceedings against a suspected ISIS member, the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation announced on Sunday. The woman testified via video link on May 7 before the Karkh First Investigation Court in Baghdad in a case involving Murat Deringani, an alleged ISIS fighter accused of war crimes and severe human rights violations during his time with the group in Iraq and Syria. Judicial records identified the witness as a victim of kidnapping, enslavement, and sexual abuse by a militant known as 'Abu Yahya al-Almani,' who faces additional charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. In August 2014, ISIS militants overran the Yazidi-majority district of Sinjar in northern Iraq, killing thousands and capturing women and girls. The United Nations later recognized the attack as genocide. Kurdish Peshmerga forces retook the area in November 2015. However, according to the US State Department, over 2,600 Yazidi women and girls remain missing, while efforts to identify victims from mass graves continue. Fewer than 700 sets of remains have been exhumed, and only 243 have been identified and returned to families. Iraqi authorities have documented 93 mass graves attributed to ISIS crimes against Yazidis, while the United Nations estimates that more than 200 mass graves left by ISIS across Iraq could contain the remains of up to 12,000 individuals.
Shafaq News
13-02-2025
- Shafaq News
Iraq hands over remains of 32 Yazidis killed by ISIS
Shafaq News/ Iraq has handed over the remains of 32 Yazidi victims to their families after completing identity verification through forensic examinations, a government official said on Thursday. 'The remains belong to victims from Sinjar, a Yazidi-majority district that was overrun by Islamic State militants in 2014,' Zaid Ali Abbas, Director General of the Forensic Medicine Department, announced at a joint press conference in Baghdad. Al-Sheikh Naif, a representative of the Yazidi victims' families said that efforts were underway to establish a memorial in Sinjar to honor the victims. "We are coordinating with relevant authorities to expedite the process of delivering DNA test samples of other victims' families to Baghdad and making the results public," he said. In turn, Diaa Karim, head of the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Directorate, revealed that additional remains would be handed over in future batches as forensic identification continues. Addressing the broader issue of mass graves, Karim said forensic teams annually announce discoveries based on completed databases. "Excavations begin as soon as a mass grave is identified," he added. According to Karim, Iraq has documented 125 mass grave sites linked to ISIS, pointing out that every site could contain many mass graves. 'So far, authorities have opened 134 mass graves, bringing the total to 151, including 64 in Sinjar alone. 29 sites remain to be examined in Nineveh province.'
