UK among countries recognizing ISIS persecution of Yazidis as genocide

The British government has recognized the crimes committed by the Islamic State against the Yazidi community as genocide. The decision came just a few days before the ninth anniversary of the crimes committed by the terrorist organization ISIS. In the 21st century, 9 years after the genocide of the Yazidi community, the Yazidis still bear the severe scars of the genocide.

Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East, Tariq Ahmad, said in a statement: “The Yazidi people suffered immensely at the hands of Daesh nine years ago and the effects are still being felt today. Justice and accountability are key for those whose lives have been devastated.” Zara Saleh, a London-based analyst on Kurdish affairs, told VOA the decision came after years of intense lobbying by the Yazidi community. Saleh also told VOA: “This means that the British government will dedicate more resources to try to hold ISIS criminals accountable for their crimes against Yazidis, Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups in Iraq and Syria.”

In August 2014, ISIS launched a major attack on Sinjar, once home to the largest Yazidi community in the world. At least 5000 Yazidis, mostly men and boys, were killed and countless women and girls were raped and abducted to be sold as sex slaves. More than 6417 of them are still missing. 360.000 Yazidis have been displaced as a result of the appalling attacks. On 10 May 2021, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD) found that ISIS’s actions constituted genocide. Following the UN resolution, a number of countries have also declared that they recognize the atrocities as genocide, including the US, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Armenia, Belgium and Germany.

In an exclusive interview with ANHA agency, Khoudi Da Elias, Co-Chair of the Administrative Body in Sinjar, described the attacks as a plan to exterminate the Yazidi community, which is still ongoing, according to the co-chair. Khoudi Da Elias also issued the following statements: “For 1400 years the Ottomans have been hostile and attacked us. The genocides against us have not ended. Turkey has developed its military technology to end the roots of the Yazidi people and exterminate them. They want to create a new genocide to eliminate the Yazidis.”

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of Jazera also issued a statement to the public.

The autonomous administration said that the perpetrators and their supporters are still beyond the reach of justice, and called on the international community to declare the massacre a genocide. The statement also mentioned the ongoing Turkish attacks: “The occupation of the Turkish state, with its support for mercenaries and its continuous targeting of the regions in northeastern Syria, and the extermination policies in Afrin, Serekaniye and Gire Spi, and its continuous targeting, aim to exterminate the people of the region and avenge ISIS.”