More Yazidis return to Shengal after genocide

Despite Turkish attacks on the Shengal (Sinjar) region, the return of the Yazidi population displaced by the Islamic State continues. In an interview with the Mezopotamya news agency, Dexil Ibrahim of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Shengal said the Yazidi people were returning to their lands despite attacks and hardship.

Following the ‘Sinjar Agreement’ signed between Baghdad and Erbil in response to US and Turkish demands, Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks on Shengal have increased. However, according to Dexil Ibrahim, Yazidis have continued to return to their land. The 15.000 Yazidi families who have returned to Shingal so far are rebuilding their homes. However, Ibrahim says the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is preventing the Yazidis, who have been living in the camps for six years, from returning.

Recalling that at least 450.000 people were forced to flee Shengal after the Yazidi genocide perpetrated by ISIS, Ibrahim added that it was the responsibility of the Iraqi government to ensure the return to Shengal. On this issue, Ibrahim told the Mezopotamya news agency that the state must have laws and act according to them, adding that it must protect its citizens from attacks. However, they have been subjected to the discriminatory policies of the Iraqi government and the government of the Kurdistan federation, Ibrahim said. The spokesperson continued his words as follows: “The Iraqi government has to ensure the return to Shengal. This is one of its basic duties. Many people want to return but cannot because they do not have the financial means and the government is not helping them to return. Shengalis living in Duhok or another town cannot make a living. Their income is not enough. But if the government helps these families, they can easily return to their homes and make a living here.”

Ibrahim likened the camps to prisons, having lived in KDP-controlled camps for six years: “You are forced to live in tents. It was very difficult to live in the camp. There were old people, there were diseases. It was very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. There were no services, no representative to contact. If it is not necessary, you cannot live in the KDP camps. They segregated the Yazidis. After 6 years I left the camp and returned to Shengal. Now I am in my land and my home, I am at peace.” In the village of Girzerik, one of the villages to which Yazidis have returned, there is not a single house left standing, but families are living in tents in that village, Ibrahim said, stressing that they are building their own villages. He stressed that the autonomous administration provides all the basic needs of the people and stands by families in all circumstances, adding: “Because we have the strength to rebuild”.