Kurdistan PM Urges International Support for Yazidis and Sinjar Agreement Implementation

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the Kurdish Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, implored the international community to stand by the Kurdistan Region and provide vital aid to alleviate the "ongoing anguish endured by the Yazidi community."

On the ninth anniversary of the ISIS genocide against the Yazidis in the Sinjar region and its environs, Barzani underscored the imperative of executing the Sinjar Agreement to facilitate the reconstruction efforts and enable the displaced to return to their rightful homes.

"Nine years ago, Sinjar and its surroundings bore the brunt of a savage assault by ISIS terrorists, culminating in the massacre, displacement, and profound suffering of countless inhabitants in the region."

"As we mark this grievous chapter, we pay homage to the memory of all victims of this Genocide. Our profound respect extends to the unwavering courage and sacrifices of the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of President Masoud Barzani, who valiantly dismantled the ISIS terrorist stronghold, liberating Sinjar and etching a poignant historical triumph."

However, Barzani's sentiments were tinged with a poignant lament, "Regrettably, even after nearly a decade, normalcy remains elusive in Sinjar. Our Yazidi kin remain displaced, unable to return to their ancestral abodes. Moreover, the reconstruction process has been hindered by militias and unlawful armed factions imposing their dominion on the region."

Barzani accentuated, "As we stand on this juncture, we stand united in backing the rightful demands of our Yazidi brethren. With utmost urgency, we emphasize the imperative of rectifying the prevailing aberrant circumstances in the city. The Sinjar Agreement, its full execution inclusive of expelling illicit forces, holds the key to rejuvenating the region, fortified by the collaborative efforts of the federal government and the international community. It is paramount to restore authority to its original inhabitants."

The Kurdish top official bow before the "martyrs of the Sinjar genocide and all those who have sacrificed for the cause of Kurdistan."

Britain on Tuesday formally acknowledged that acts of Genocide were committed against minority Yazidis by ISIS militants in Iraq in 2014.

The acknowledgment comes after a German court in 2021 jailed a former ISIS militant for life for involvement in Genocide and crimes against humanity against Yazidis in Iraq and Syria. German lawmakers have also recognized that genocide crimes were committed by ISIS militants in Iraq.

"The Yazidi population suffered immensely at the hands of Daesh nine years ago, and the repercussions are still felt to this day," Britain's minister of state for the Middle East, Tariq Ahmad, said in a statement. "Justice and accountability are key for those whose lives have been devastated."

The Yazidis are an ancient religious minority in eastern Syria and northwest Iraq that Islamic State viewed as supposed devil worshippers for their faith, combining Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs.

The group killed thousands of Yazidis, enslaved 7,000 Yazidi women and girls, and displaced most of the 550,000-strong community from their ancestral home in northern Iraq.

Britain, which officially recognizes only four other historic instances, including the Holocaust, as Genocide, said it would continue to help lead global efforts against IS propaganda.

On Wednesday, Kurdistan's President, Nechirvan Barzani, commended the United Kingdom's decision to recognize the crimes committed by the Islamic State extremist group (ISIS) as Genocide.

"I commend the UK government's formal acknowledgment that acts of genocide were committed against our Yezidi community by ISIS terrorists," President Barzani wrote on Twitter, rebranded as X, "As we approach the 9th anniversary of the 2014 genocide, we honor and remember Yezidi victims and all those who suffered at the hands of the terror group."