The Yazidi genocide was perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017.[1][11][12] It was characterized by massacres, genocidal rape, and forced conversions to Islam. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking people[13] who are indigenous to Kurdistan who practice Yazidism, a monotheistic Iranian ethnoreligion derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition.

Yazidi genocide
Part of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and Syrian civil war
Left-to-right from top:
Yazidi refugees receiving support from the International Rescue Committee; American relief worker of USAID conversing with Iraqi locals near Sinjar; packaged bundles of water inside of a C-17 Globemaster III prior to an emergency airdrop by the United States Air Force.
LocationIraq and Syria[1]
DateJune 2014 – December 2017
TargetYazidis
Attack type
Genocidal massacre; genocidal rape and sexual slavery of women and girls; and forced conversion to Islam
Deaths~5,000 (per the United Nations)[2][3][4]
InjuredUnknown
Victims4,200–10,800 kidnapped or captive[5] and 500,000+ displaced
Perpetrator Islamic State
Defenders
MotiveIslamic fundamentalism[10]

Over a period of three years, Islamic State militants trafficked thousands of Yazidi women and girls and killed thousands of Yazidi men;[14] the United Nations reported that the Islamic State killed about 5,000 Yazidis[5] and trafficked about 10,800 Yazidi women and girls in a "forced conversion campaign"[15][16] throughout Iraq. By 2015, upwards of 71% of the global Yazidi population was displaced by the genocide, with most Yazidi refugees having fled to Iraq's Kurdistan Region and Syria's Rojava.[17][18] The persecution of Yazidis, along with other religious minorities, took place after the Islamic State's Northern Iraq offensive of June 2014.[19][20]

Amidst numerous atrocities committed by the Islamic State, the Yazidi genocide attracted international attention and prompted the United States to establish CJTF–OIR, a military coalition consisting of many Western countries and Turkey, Morocco, and Jordan. Additionally, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia made emergency airdrops to support Yazidi refugees who had become trapped in the Sinjar Mountains due to the Islamic State's Northern Iraq offensive of August 2014. During the Sinjar massacre, in which the Islamic State killed and abducted thousands of trapped Yazidis, the United States and the United Kingdom began carrying out airstrikes on the advancing Islamic State militants, while the People's Defense Units and the Kurdistan Workers' Party jointly formed a humanitarian corridor to evacuate the rest of the Yazidi refugees from the Sinjar Mountains.[21]

The United Nations, and several other organizations, including the Council of Europe and the European Union, have designated the anti-Yazidi campaign by the Islamic State as a genocide,[1] as have the United States, Canada, Armenia, and Iraq.[1][11]

A Yazidi mass grave in the Sinjar region in 2015[22]

Background

edit

Yazidis and the Yazidi religion

edit

The Yazidis are monotheists who believe in Melek Taus, a benevolent angel who appears as a peacock.[23] The self-proclaimed Islamic State and some other Muslims in the region view the peacock angel as the malevolent creature Lucifer or Shaitan and they consider the Yazidis 'devil worshippers'. IS does not consider Yazidis as People of the book or eligible for Dhimmi and related protections;[24] whereas moderate Islam offers these protections to a wide variety of minority religions.[25]

In August 2014, more than 300 Yazidi families were threatened and forced to choose between conversion to Sunni Islam or death.[26]

Persecution of Yazidis

edit

During the Ottoman period

edit

In post-2003 Iraq

edit

Rise of the Islamic State

edit

Offensive into Kurdish-controlled Iraq

edit

On 3 August 2014, IS militants attacked and took over Sinjar in northern Iraq, a Kurdish-controlled town that was predominantly inhabited by Yazidis,[30] and the surrounding area.

Yazidis,[31] and internet postings of IS,[32] have reported summary executions that day by IS militants, leading to 200,000 civilians fleeing Sinjar, of whom around 50,000 Yazidis were reportedly escaping to the nearby Sinjar Mountains. They were trapped on Mount Sinjar, surrounded by IS militants and facing starvation and dehydration.[32][33][34]

On 4 August 2014, Prince Tahseen Said, Emir of the Yazidi, issued a plea to world leaders calling for assistance on behalf of the Yazidi facing attack from IS.[35]

Massacres of Yazidis

edit
 
The ruins of Sinjar in July 2019 after the invasion of the Islamic State

On 3 August 2014, IS killed the men from the al-Qahtaniya area, ten Yazidi families fleeing were attacked by IS; and IS shot 70 to 90 Yazidi men in Qiniyeh village.[36]

On 4 August, IS fighters attacked Jabal Sinjar, and killed 30 Yazidi men; 60 more Yazidi men were killed in the village of Hardan.[36] On the same day, Yazidi community leaders stated that at least 200 Yazidis had been killed in Sinjar (see Sinjar massacre), and 60–70 near Ramadi Jabal.[36] According to reports from surviving Yazidis, between 3 and 6 August, more than 50 Yazidi were killed near Dhola village, 100 in Khana Sor village, 250–300 in Hardan area, more than 200 on the road between Adnaniya and Jazeera, dozens near al-Shimal village, and on the road from Matu village to Jabal Sinjar.[36]

On 10 August, according to statements by the Iraqi government, IS militants buried alive an undefined number of Yazidi women and children in northern Iraq in an attack that killed 500 people.[10][37][38][39] Those who escaped across the Tigris River into Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria on 10 August gave accounts of how they had seen individuals also attempting to flee who later died.[30][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]

On 15 August, in the Yazidi village of Kojo, south of Sinjar, after the whole population had received the jihadist ultimatum to convert or be killed, over 80 men were killed.[48][49] A witness recounted that the villagers were first converted under duress,[16] but when the village elder refused to convert, all of the men were taken in trucks under the pretext of being led to Sinjar and gunned down along the way.[citation needed] According to reports from survivors interviewed by OHCHR, on 15 August, the entire male population of the Yazidi village of Khocho, up to 400 men, were rounded up and shot by IS, and up to 1,000 women and children were abducted; on the same day, up to 200 Yazidi men were reportedly executed for refusing conversion in a Tal Afar prison.[36]

Between 24 and 25 August 14 elderly Yazidi men were executed by IS in the Sheikh Mand Shrine, and the Jidala village Yazidi shrine was blown up.[36] On 1 September, the Yazidi villages of Kotan, Hareko and Kharag Shafrsky were set afire by IS, and on 9 September, Peshmerga fighters discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 14 executed civilians, presumably Yazidis.[36]

According to an OHRCR/UNAMI report on 26 September, by the end of August, 1,600–1,800 or more Yazidis who had been murdered, executed, or died from starvation.[36] In early October, Matthew Barber, a scholar of Yazidi history at the University of Chicago, estimated that 5,000 Yazidi men had been killed by IS.[50]

According to the United Nations, IS had massacred 5,000 Yazidi men and kidnapped about 7000 Yazidi women and girls (who were forced into sex slavery) in northern Iraq in August 2014.[50]

In May 2015, the Yazidi Progress Party released a statement in which they said that 300 Yazidi captives were killed on 1 May by IS in the Tal Afar, Iraq.[51]

A 2017 survey by the PLOS Medicine journal significantly decreased the number of Yazidis killed however concurrently raised the number abducted with 2,100 to 4,400 deaths and 4,200 to 10,800 abductions.[5]

Violence against Yazidi women and girls

edit

Rape and sexual slavery

edit

The 2017 report of the United Nations Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence detailed the brutal attacks on Mosul, Sinjar, Tall'Afar, and the Ninewa plains in the north and subjection of civilians to sexual violence on a horrific scale primarily against women and girls from ethnic and religious minority groups. According to declarations, 971 Yazidi women and girls have been freed while 1,882 remained enslaved in Iraq and Syria. Forced transfer of Yazidis from Mosul to Raqqah (Syria), trafficking, the sale and trade of women and children, and the use of sexually enslaved women as human shields by IS during the Mosul operations were also reported.[52]

Abductions

edit

On 3 August, IS abducted women and children from the al-Qahtaniya area, and 450–500 abducted Yazidi women and girls were taken to Tal Afar; hundreds more to Si Basha Khidri and then Ba'aj.[36] When IS fighters attacked Jabal Sinjar on 4 August, they abducted a number of women in the Yazidi village of Hardan, wives and daughters were abducted; other Yazidi women were abducted in other villages in the area.[36] On 6 August, IS kidnapped 400 Yazidi women in Sinjar to sell them as sex slaves.[53] According to reports from surviving Yazidi, between 3 and 6 August 500 Yazidi women and children were abducted from Ba'aj and more than 200 from Tal Banat.[36] According to a statement by the Iraqi government on 10 August 2014, hundreds of women were taken as slaves in northern Iraq.[10][38][39] On 15 August, in the Yazidi village of Kojo, south of Sinjar, over 100 women were abducted,[48][49] though according to some reports from survivors, up to 1,000 women and children of the Yazidi village of Khocho were abducted.[36] According to an OHRCR/UNAMI report on 26 September, by the end of August up to 2,500 Yazidis, mostly women and children, had been abducted.[36] In early October, Matthew Barber, a scholar of Yazidi history at the University of Chicago, compiled a list of names of 4,800 Yazidi women and children who had been captured (estimating the total number of abducted people to be possibly up to 7,000).[citation needed]

The abducted Yazidi women were sold into slave markets with IS "using rape as a weapon of war" according to CNN, with the group having gynaecologists ready to examine the captives. Yazidi women were physically observed, including examinations to see if they were virgins or if they were pregnant. Women who were found to be pregnant were taken by the IS gynaecologists and forced abortions were performed on them.[54]

Sex trafficking

edit

Haleh Esfandiari from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars highlighted the abuse of local women by IS militants after they have captured an area. "They usually take the older women to a makeshift slave market and try to sell them. The younger girls ... are raped or married off to fighters", she said, adding, "It's based on temporary marriages, and once these fighters have had sex with these young girls, they just pass them on to other fighters."[55]

Speaking of Yazidi women captured by IS, Nazand Begikhani said in October 2014, "These women have been treated like cattle ... They have been subjected to physical and sexual violence, including systematic rape and sex slavery. They've been exposed in markets in Mosul and in Raqqa, Syria, carrying price tags."[56] Yazidi girls in Iraq allegedly raped by IS fighters have committed suicide by jumping to their death from Mount Sinjar, as described in a witness statement.[57]

 
Defend International provided humanitarian aid to Yazidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan in December 2014.

A United Nations report issued on 2 October 2014, based on 500 interviews with witnesses, said that IS took 450–500 women and girls to Iraq's Nineveh region in August where "150 unmarried girls and women, predominantly from the Yazidi and Christian communities, were reportedly transported to Syria, either to be enslaved to IS fighters as a 'reward' or to be sold as sex slaves".[58] Also in October 2014, a UN report revealed that IS had detained 5,000 to 7,000 Yazidi women as slaves or forced brides in northern Iraq in August 2014.[59]

On 4 November 2014, Dr. Widad Akrawi of Defend International said that "the international community should define what's happening to the Yezidis as a crime against humanity, crime against cultural heritage of the region and ethnic cleansing", adding that Yazidi females are being "subjected to as systematic gender-based violence and the use of slavery and rape as a weapon of war."[60] A month earlier, President of Defend International dedicated her 2014 International Pfeffer Peace Award to the Yazidis, Christians and all residents of Kobane because, she said, facts on the ground demonstrate that these peaceful people are not safe in their enclaves, partly because of their ethnic origin and/or religion and they are therefore in urgent need for immediate attention from the global community.[61][62][63][64][65][66][67] She asked the international community to make sure that the victims are not forgotten; they should be rescued, protected, fully assisted and compensated fairly.[68]

In June 2017, reports from Vian Dakhil of the Iraqi parliament told of a captured sex slave being fed her own one-year-old child. The woman was starved for three days in a cellar and was finally given a meal by her captors. When finished, they said "We cooked your one-year-old son that we took from you, and this is what you just ate".[69]

A young woman described her experience in a 2023 documentary Daughters of the Sun: "A man bought me. He was an Iraqi, from Til Afar. He was 24 years old ... I was his slave and had to take care of his children. He hit me all the time. I was with that family for three years. Not a day went by when he didn't hit me. Most of the time I couldn't see because my eyes were swollen."[70]

Process of selling Yazidi and Christian women

edit

On 3 November 2014, the "price list" for Yazidi and Christian females issued by IS surfaced online, and Dr. Widad Akrawi and her team were the first to verify the authenticity of the document.[71][72] On 4 November 2014, a translated version of the document was shared by Akrawi.[73][74] On 4 August 2015, the same document was confirmed as genuine by a UN official.[75][76]

Writing in mid 2016, Lori Hinnant, Maya Alleruzzo and Balint Szlanko of the Associated Press reported that IS tightened "its grip on the estimated 3,000 women and girls held as sex slaves" even while it was losing territory to Iraqi forces.[77] IS sold the women on encrypted smart phone apps, primarily on Telegram and on Facebook" and to a lesser degree on WhatsApp. In advertisements for the girls seen by AP, "many of the women and girls are dressed in finery, some in heavy makeup. All look directly at the camera, standing in front of overstuffed chairs or brocade curtains in what resembles a shabby hotel ballroom. Some are barely out of elementary school. Not one looks older than 30.[77] In the documentary "Daughters of the Sun," Yazidi women describe the selling process: "Price tags were put on us. They bought us for 10 dollars, 20 dollars, some for 100 dollars, or as a gift....[I was sold] five times."[70]

Pregnancies

edit

Various forms of reproductive violence were enacted against the Yazidi women and children to prevent birth. Captured Yazidis were taken as slaves and forced to use contraceptive pills and injections, and those captured pregnant were victims of forced abortions. Reports covered that Yazidi women and girls were told that they had to abort their previous unborn children since IS fighters were interested only in making Muslim babies. Forced impregnation with the intent to prevent the birth of Yazidi babies is also another form of reproductive violence and a measure taken against the group. These destructive intents and acts are described as preventing future procreation and causing severe long-term physical, psychological, and socio-political effects.[78][79]

Escape and liberation

edit

Since 2014, efforts have been ongoing to rescue those enslaved by the Islamic State, including paying ransoms.[80][81][82] Many were freed by the Syrian Democratic Forces as they took territory from the Islamic State in the Rojava–Islamist conflict.[83][84] In November 2014 The New York Times reported on the accounts given by five who escaped the Islamic State of their captivity and abuse.[85]

According to Mirza Dinnayi, founder of the German-Iraqi aid organization Luftbrücke Irak, IS registers "every slave, every person under their owner, and therefore if she escapes, every Daesh [IS] control or checkpoint, or security force—they know that this girl ... has escaped from this owner".[77] For over a year after the girls were first enslaved, Arab and Kurdish smugglers managed to free an average of 134 "slaves" a month. But by May 2016, an IS crackdown had reduced those numbers to just 39 in the previous six weeks, according the Kurdistan regional government. IS fighters targeted and killed "smugglers who rescue the captives". In 2016, funds provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government to buy the women out of slavery were cut off as a result of the collapse in the price of oil and disputes with Iraq's central government over revenues.[77]

The freeing of Yazidi women continues, with one being found at the homes of an Islamic State commander in Ankara in July 2020.[86][87] One seven-year old Yazidi girl was rescued from two IS commanders in Ankara by Turkish authorities in February 2021.[failed verification][88] In October 2024 Fawzia Amin Sido, a Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by ISIS and sold to a Palestinian IS supporter was rescued from the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Defense Forces.[89][90] The woman was 11 when she was taken and was rescued after being held for 10 years.

Claimed Islamic justification for enslaving non-Muslim women

edit

In its digital magazine Dabiq, IS explicitly claimed religious justification for enslaving Yazidi women.[91][92][93][94][95][96] ISIL's religious justifications were refuted by mainstream Islamic scholars.[97][91]

According to The Wall Street Journal, IS appeals to apocalyptic beliefs and claims "justification by a Hadith that they interpret as portraying the revival of slavery as a precursor to the end of the world".[98] In late 2014, IS released a pamphlet on the treatment of female slaves.[99][100][101][102][103] The New York Times said in August 2015 that "[t]he systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution."[104]

Creation of Yazidi refugees

edit

Massacre of Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains

edit

The IS offensive in the Sinjar area of northern Iraq, 3–4 August, caused 30,000–50,000 Yazidis to flee into the Sinjar Mountains (Jabal Sinjar) fearing they would be killed by ISIL. They had been threatened with death if they refused conversion to Islam. A UN representative said that "a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sinjar".[105]

On 3 and 4 August 14 or more, Yazidi children and some elderly or people with disabilities died of hunger, dehydration, and heat on Mount Sinjar.[36] By 6 August, according to reports from survivors, 200 Yazidi children while fleeing to Mount Sinjar had died from thirst, starvation, heat and dehydration.[36]

Kurdish military intervention

edit

Fifty thousand Yazidis, besieged by IS on Mount Sinjar, were able to escape after Kurdish People's Protection Units and PKK broke IS siege on the mountains. The majority of them were rescued by Kurdish PKK and YPG fighters.[106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113] Multinational rescue operation involved dropping of supplies on the mountains and evacuation of some refugees by helicopters. During the rescue operation, on 12 August, an overloaded Iraqi Air Force helicopter crashed on Mount Sinjar, killing Iraqi Air Force Major General Majid Ahmed Saadi (the pilot) and injuring 20 people.[114]

On 8 August, PKK provided humanitarian aid and camps to more than 3,000 Yazidi refugees.[113]

By 20 October, 2,000 Yazidis, mainly volunteer fighters, who had remained behind to protect the villages, but also civilians (700 families who had not yet escaped), were reported as still in the Sinjar area, and were forced by IS to abandon the last villages in their control, Dhoula and Bork, and retreat to the Sinjar Mountains.[115]

Forced conversions to Islam

edit

In an article by The Washington Post, it was stated that an estimated 7,000 Yazidis had been forced to convert to "the Islamic State group's harsh interpretation of Islam".[116] Yazidi boys were taken to Raqqa, Syria to be trained to fight for ISIL, with some being forced to fight as U.S.-led forces closed in on the group.[117][118]

Return of displaced Yazidis

edit
The Yazidi residents of Sinun in northern Iraq who returned home faced many challenges.

Following ISIL's retreat from Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the region during late 2017 campaigns, both governments laid claim to the area. The Yazidi population, with only about 15% returning to Sinjar during the period, was caught in the political crossfire. Yazidis returned to an abandoned town of crumbling buildings, leftover IEDs and the remains of those killed during the massacre.[119]

In November 2017, a mass grave of about 70 people was uncovered[120] and a month later in December, another mass grave was discovered holding about 90 victims.[121]

Thousands are still missing. To aid in the search, local business owners use their network of contacts to locate people.[122] Former captives use their contacts to buy back Yazidi women sold into sex slavery and return them to their family. This additionally prevents their organs from being sold on the black market, each of which, according to an Islamic State informant, can be sold for $60,000–70,000.[123]

Fate of Yazidi captives of the Islamic State

edit

In January 2015, about 200 Yazidis were released by IS. Kurdish military officials believed they were released because they were a burden. On 8 April 2015, 216 Yazidis, with the majority being children and elderly, were released by IS after being held captive for about eight months. Their release occurred following an offensive by U.S.-led air assaults and pressure from Iraqi ground forces who were pushing northward and in the process of retaking Tikrit. According to General Hiwa Abdullah, a peshmerga commander in Kirkuk, those released were in poor health with signs of abuse and neglect visible.[124]

In March 2016, Iraqi security forces managed to free a group of Yazidi women held hostage by IS in a special operation behind IS's lines in Mosul.[125][126]

In March 2016, the militant group Kurdistan Workers' Party managed to free 51 Yazidis held hostages by IS in an operation called 'Operation Vengeance for Martyrs of Shilo'.[127] Three Kurdistan Workers' Party guerrillas died during the operation.

In April 2016, the Kurdistan Workers' Party with the Sinjar Resistance Units managed to free another 53 Yazidis held hostages by ISIL.[128]

Rise of Yazidi anti-Arab militias

edit

According to a report by Amnesty International, on January 25, 2015, members of a Yazidi militia attacked two Arab villages (Jiri and Sibaya) in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, killing 21 civilians. The gunmen also kidnapped 40 other residents, 17 of whom are still missing and presumed dead.[129]

Classification as a genocide

edit
 
Yazidi Genocide Monument in Yerevan, Armenia

Many international organisations, governments and parliaments, as well as groups have classified ISIL's treatment of the Yazidis as genocide, and condemned it as such. The Genocide of Yazidis has been officially recognized by several bodies of the United Nations[130][131] and the European Parliament.[132] Some states have recognized it as well, including the National Assembly of Armenia,[133] the Australian parliament,[134][better source needed] the British Parliament,[135] the Canadian parliament,[136] and the United States House of Representatives.[137] Multiple individual human rights activists such as Nazand Begikhani and Dr. Widad Akrawi have also advocated for this view.[60][138]

In 2017, CNN journalists Jomana Karadsheh and Chris Jackson interviewed former Yazidi captives and exclusively filmed the Daesh Criminal Investigations Unit (DCIU), a team of Iraqi Kurdish and western investigators who have been operating secretly in Northern Iraq, for more than two years, collecting evidence of ISIS’ war crimes.[139]

  • United Nations:
    • In a March 2015 report, the persecution of the Yazidi people was qualified as a genocide by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR). The organization cited the numerous atrocities such as forced religious conversion and sexual slavery as being parts of an overall malicious campaign.[11][140]
    • In August 2017, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated that 'IS committed the crime of genocide by seeking to destroy the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture, forcible displacement, the transfer of children and measures intended to prohibit the birth of Yazidi children.' It added that the genocide was ongoing, and stating that the international community still must recognize the detrimental effects of the genocide. The Commission wrote that, while some countries may choose to overlook the idea of the genocide, the atrocities need to be understood and the international community needs to bring the killings to an end.[141]
    • In 2018, the Security Council team enforced the idea of a new accountability team that would collect evidence of the international crimes committed by the Islamic State. However, the international community has not been in full support of this idea, because it can sometimes oversee the crimes that other armed groups are involved in.[142]
    • On 10 May 2021, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/IS (UNITAD) determined that ISIL's actions in Iraq constituted genocide.[143][144][145]
  • Council of Europe: On 27 January 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution stating: "individuals who act in the name of the terrorist entity which calls itself 'Islamic State' (Daesh) ... have perpetrated acts of genocide and other serious crimes punishable under international law. States should act on the presumption that Daesh commits genocide and should be aware that this entails action under the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide." However, it did not identify victims.[146]
  • European Union: On 4 February 2016, the European Parliament unanimously passed a resolution to recognise 'that the so-called 'ISIS/Daesh' is committing genocide against Christians and Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities, who do not agree with the so-called 'ISIS/Daesh' interpretation of Islam, and that this therefore entails action under the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.'[132][147] Additionally, it called for those who intentionally committed atrocities for ethnic or religious reasons to be brought to justice for violating international law, and committing crimes against humanity, and genocide.[132][147]
  • United States: The United States Department of State has formally recognised the Yazidi genocide in areas under the control of ISIS in 2016 and 2017.[148] On 14 March 2016, the United States House of Representatives voted unanimously 393-0 that violent actions performed against Yazidis, Christians, Shia and other groups by IS were acts of genocide. Days later on 17 March 2016, United States Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the violence initiated by IS against the Yazidis and others amounted to genocide.[137]
  • United Kingdom: On 20 April 2016, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom unanimously supported a motion to declare that the treatment of Yazidis and Christians by the Islamic State amounted to genocide, to condemn it as such, and to refer the issue to the UN Security Council. In doing so, Conservative MPs defied their own party's government, who had tried to dissuade them from making such a statement, because of the Foreign Office legal department's long-standing policy (dating back to the 1948 passing of the Genocide Convention) of refusing to give a legal description to potential war crimes. Foreign Office secretary Tobias Ellwood – who was jeered at and interrupted by MPs during his speech in the debate – stated that he personally believed genocide had taken place, but that it was not up to politicians to make that determination, but to the courts.[135] Furthermore, on 23 March 2017, the regional devolved Scottish Parliament adopted a motion stating: '[The Scottish Parliament] recognises and condemns the genocide perpetrated against the Yezidi people by Daesh [ISIS]; acknowledges the great human suffering and loss that have been inflicted by bigotry, brutality and religious intolerance, [and] further acknowledges and condemns the crimes perpetrated by Daesh against Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Kurds and all of the religious and ethnic communities of Iraq and Syria; welcomes the actions of the US Congress, the European Parliament, the French Senate, the UN and others in formally recognising the genocide'.[149][150]
  • Canada: On 25 October 2016, the House of Commons of Canada unanimously supported a motion tabled by MP Michelle Rempel Garner (CPC) to recognise that ISIS was committing genocide against the Yazidi people, to acknowledge that ISIS still kept many Yazidi women and girls captive as sex slaves, to support and take action on a recent UN commission report, and provide asylum to Yazidi women and girls within 120 days.[136]
  • France: On 6 December 2016, the French Senate unanimously approved a resolution stating that acts committed by the Islamic State against "the Christian and Yazidi populations, other minorities and civilians" were "war crimes", "crimes against humanity", and constituted a "genocide". It also invited the government to "use all legal channels" to have these crimes recognised, and the perpetrators tried.[151] The National Assembly adopted a similar resolution two days later (originally tabled on 25 May 2016 by Yves Fromion of The Republicans), with the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican group abstaining and the other groups approving.[152][153]
  • Armenia: In January 2018, the Armenian parliament recognised and condemned the 2014 genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State, and called on the international community to conduct an international investigation into the events.[154]
  • Israel: On 21 November 2018, a bill tabled by opposition MP Ksenia Svetlova (ZU) to recognise the Islamic State's killing of Yazidis as a genocide was defeated in a 58 to 38 vote in the Knesset. The coalition parties motivated their rejection of the bill by saying that the United Nations had not yet recognised it as a genocide.[155]
  • Iraq: On 1 March 2021, the Iraq parliament passed the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Bill which provides assistance to survivors and "determines the atrocities perpetrated by Daesh against the Yazidis, Turkmen, Christians and Shabaks to be genocide and crimes against humanity."[156] The law provides compensation, measures for rehabilitation and reintegration, pensions, provision of land, housing, and education, and a quota in public sector employment.[157] On 10 May 2021, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/IS (UNITAD) determined that ISIL's actions in Iraq constituted genocide.[143]
  • Belgium: On 30 June 2021, the Foreign Relations Commission of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution by opposition representatives Georges Dallemagne (cdH) and Koen Metsu (N-VA) to recognise ISIL's August 2014 massacre of thousands of Yazidi men and enslavement of thousands of Yazidi women and children as genocide. The resolution, which would likely also pass with overwhelming approval in the Chamber itself, called on the Belgian government to increase its efforts to support victims, and prosecute perpetrators (either at the International Criminal Court, or at a new ad hoc tribunal).[158] On 17 July 2021, the Belgian parliament unanimously voted to recognize the suffering of the Yazidis at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 as a genocide.[159]
  • Netherlands: On 6 July 2021, the Dutch House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion tabled by MP Anne Kuik (CDA) which recognised the crimes of Islamic State against the Yazidi population as a genocide and crimes against humanity.[160]
  • Germany: On 19 January 2023, the German Bundestag unanimously recognized the crimes against Yazidis as genocide.[161] The resolution, which was jointly tabled by the government and the opposition, also calls for prosecution of the perpetrators and aid for rebuilding Yazidi villages.[162]

Timeline

edit
Timeline Genocidal and related events
2013 Threatening of Yazidi students in Mosul University by Islamists[163][164]
10 June 2014 Iraq's second largest city, Mosul falls under ISIS control[163][164]
16 June 2014 ISIS seizes Tel Afar[163][164]
3 August 2014 ISIS attacks Sinjar after withdrawal of Kurdish forces. Thousands of Yezidis flee to Sinjar mountain but are trapped with no access to food and water. Many die.[163]
4 August 2014 At least 60 Yazidi men are killed by ISIS in Hardan village while women and children are forcefully taken as captives to Tel Afar.[163]
7 August 2014 Air strike by the United States to "end siege" on Mount Sinjar. Several thousands of Yazidis have already been killed or taken captive by ISIS[163][165]
9–11 August 2014 Syrian Kurdish forces create an escape corridor from Mount Sinjar. At least 100,000 IDPs arrive in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq[163][166]
14 August 2014 United States ends humanitarian air drops on Mount Sinjar[163][167]
15 August 2014 ISIS carries out the Kocho massacre after two weeks of siege. The majority of village men are killed and boys are forced to become child soldiers; the women and girls are sold into sexual slavery[163][168]
October 2014 ISIS continues its propaganda on its Dabiq[clarification needed] to enslave Yazidis[163][169]
13 November 2015 Kurdish forces and Yazidi armed groups liberate Shingal from ISIS[163][170]
22 March 2019 Baghouz of eastern Syria is liberated. Yazidi captives are reportedly beheaded by ISIS. Enslaved Yazidi child soldiers are released[163][171]
27 October 2019 ISIS emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed by the United States in Syria[163][172]
1 March 2021 Yazidi survivors legislation is ratified by the Iraq parliament to offer compensation, land, and jobs[163][173]
6 February 2021 A funeral is held for the 104 Yazidis from the Kocho massacre. Hundreds of bodies are exhumed from about 80 mass graves located around Sinjar, some of which could not be identified.[163][174]

International reactions

edit
 
Yazidi demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. (August 2014)

ISIL's atrocities against Yazidis were strongly condemned by prominent Islamic scholars and Muslim organizations.[175][176][177]

Western-led military intervention

edit

On 7 August 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered targeted airstrikes on IS militants and emergency air relief for the Yazidis. Airstrikes began on 8 August. (See American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)#Obama authorizes airstrikes.)

On 8 August 2014, the US asserted that the systematic destruction of the Yazidi people by the Islamic State was genocide.[178]

President Barack Obama had authorized the attacks to protect Yazidis but also Americans and Iraqi minorities. President Obama gave an assurance that no troops would be deployed for combat. Along with the airstrikes of 9 August, the US airdropped 3,800 gallons of water and 16,128 MREs. Following these actions, the United Kingdom and France stated that they also would begin airdrops.[179]

On 10 August 2014, at approximately 2:15 a.m. ET, the US carried out five additional airstrikes on armed vehicles and a mortar position, enabling 20,000–30,000 Yazidi Iraqis to flee into Syria and later be rescued by Kurdish forces. The Kurdish forces then provided shelter for the Yazidis in Dohuk.[180][181]

On 13 August 2014, fewer than 20 United States Special Forces troops stationed in Irbil along with British Special Air Service troops visited the area near Mount Sinjar to gather intelligence and plan the evacuation of approximately 30,000 Yazidis still trapped on Mount Sinjar. One hundred and twenty-nine additional US military personnel were deployed to Irbil to assess and provide a report to President Obama.[182] The United States Central Command also reported that a seventh airdrop was conducted and that to date, 114,000 meals and more than 35,000 gallons of water had been airdropped to the displaced Yazidis in the area.[183]

In a statement on 14 August 2014, The Pentagon said that the 20 US personnel who had visited the previous day had concluded that a rescue operation was probably unnecessary since there was less danger from exposure or dehydration and the Yazidis were no longer believed to be at risk of attack from ISIL. Estimates also stated that 4,000 to 5,000 people remained on the mountain, with nearly half of which being Yazidi herders who lived there before the siege.[184][185]

Kurdish officials and Yazidi refugees stated that thousands of young, elderly, and disabled individuals on the mountain were still vulnerable, with the governor of Kurdistan's Dahuk province, Farhad Atruchi, saying that the assessment was "not correct" and that although people were suffering, "the international community is not moving".[185]

Humanitarian aid

edit

IDP camps are built to be temporary solutions, but they trap you in a cycle of day-to-day survival, rather than allowing you to progress toward recovery.

— Nadia Murad, August 2022 [186]

30,000–40,000 Yazidis fled to Syria, 100,000 Yazidis took refuge in Kurdish controlled Zakho, Iraq.[187] In Syria, the UNHCR provided material and transportation to Yazidi refugees and local Syrian communities cooked them meals.[188] Turkey initially took in 2,000 Yazidis refugees in Silopi, where they were provided food and medical care,[189][190] but some refugees were turned back. The Turkish Disaster Relief Agency (AFAD) also set up refugee camps in Zakho, Iraq.[191][192] By 31 August, Turkey reportedly hosted 16,000 Yazidi refugees.[193]

The US military air dropped food and water to Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar.[194] Today's Zaman reported that Turkey also airdropped humanitarian aid to Yazidi refugees within Iraq.[195]

United Nations, Arab League, and NGOs

edit
  • United Nations – On 13 August 2014, the United Nations declared the Yazidi crisis a highest-level "Level 3 Emergency", saying that the declaration "will facilitate mobilization of additional resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more effective response to the humanitarian needs of populations affected by forced displacements".[196] On 19 March 2015, a United Nations panel concluded that IS "may have committed" genocide against the Yazidis with an investigation head, Suki Nagra, stating that the attacks on the Yazidis "were not just spontaneous or happened out of the blue, they were clearly orchestrated".[197]
  • Arab League – On 11 August 2014, the Arab League accused IS of committing crimes against humanity by persecuting the Yazidis.[198][199]
  • Defend International – On 6 September 2014, Defend International launched a worldwide campaign entitled "Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now" to raise awareness about the tragedy of the Yazidis in Sinjar; coordinate activities related to intensifying efforts aimed at rescuing Yazidi and Christian women and girls captured by ISIL; provide a platform for discussion and the exchange of information on matters and activities relevant to securing the fundamental rights of the Yazidis, no matter where they reside; and building a bridge between potential partners and communities whose work is relevant to the campaign, including individuals, groups, communities, and organizations active in the areas of women's and girls' rights, inter alia, as well as actors involved in ending modern-day slavery and violence against women and girls.[68][200] The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) emphasized the continued threats against Yazidis and made calls for U.S. government action to support the human rights and religious freedom of the group in Iraq.[201]

Prosecutions of Islamic State personnel

edit

Amal Clooney of the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), represented five Yazidi women before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Umm Sayyaf seeking prosecution of Sayyaf for her role in their enslavement.[202] In 2021, German courts convicted ISIS women for their involvement in the enslavement of Yazidi women.[203] German courts also prosecuted Taha al-Jumailly, an Iraqi member of the Islamic State, for his involvement in the Yazidi genocide, to include the murder of a five-year-old girl.[204] A report by the Yazidi Justice Committee accused, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, of failing to prevent and punish the genocide.[205]

In 2024, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's widow Asma Mohammed was condemned to death in Iraq for committing crimes against humanity and genocide against the Yazidis.[206] She was accused of keeping abducted Yazidis captive in her home.[207]

Resettlement of Yazidi refugees

edit

United States Senators Amy Klobuchar and Lindsey Graham have called on United States President Joe Biden to help resettle Yazidi survivors of the Islamic State campaign of 2014–2017.[208]

See also

edit

Further reading

edit
  • Revkin, Mara; Wood, Elisabeth (2021). "The Islamic State's Pattern of Sexual Violence: Ideology and Institutions, Policies and Practices". Journal of Global Security Studies. 6 (2): 1–20. doi:10.1093/jogss/ogaa038.
  • Nanninga, Pieter (2019). "Religion and International Crimes: The Case of the Islamic State". In Smeulers, Alette; Weerdesteijn, Maartje; Hola, Barbora (eds.). Perpetrators of International Crimes: Theories, Methods, and Evidence. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-882999-7.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Labott, Elise; Kopan, Tal (17 March 2016). "John Kerry: ISIS responsible for genocide". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. ^ "4 years ago: the genocide against the Yazidis in northern Iraq (August 3, 2014)". Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker e.V. (GfbV). Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  3. ^ Spencer, Richard (14 October 2014). "Isil carried out massacres and mass sexual enslavement of Yazidis, UN confirms". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  4. ^ Taylor, Lin (9 May 2017). "Nearly 10,000 Yazidis killed, kidnapped by Islamic State in 2014, study finds". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Cetorelli, Valeria (9 May 2017). "Mortality and kidnapping estimates for the Yazidi population in the area of Mount Sinjar, Iraq, in August 2014: A retrospective household survey". PLOS Medicine. 14 (5): e1002297. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002297. PMC 5423550. PMID 28486492.
  6. ^ a b Roussinos, Aris (16 August 2014). "'Everywhere Around Is the Islamic State': On the Road in Iraq with YPG Fighters". VICE News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  7. ^ a b Pamuk, Humeyra (26 August 2014). "Smugglers and Kurdish militants help Iraq's Yazidis flee to Turkey". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  8. ^ a b Shelton, Tracey. "'If it wasn't for the Kurdish fighters, we would have died up there'". GlobalPost. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. ^ Watson, Ivan; Botelho, Greg (10 August 2014). "Yazidi survivor recalls horror of evading ISIS, death". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  10. ^ a b c "Islamic State Killed 500 Yazidis, Buried Some Victims Alive". Huffington Post. 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  11. ^ a b c "UN accuses the "Islamic State" in the genocide of the Yazidis" (in Russian). BBC Russian Service/BBC. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  12. ^ "The UN has blamed 'Islamic State' in the genocide of the Yazidis". Радио Свобода. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  13. ^ Allison, Christine (20 February 2004). "Yazidis i: General". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  14. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (16 August 2018). "Turkish Airstrike in Iraqi Territory Kills a Kurdish Militant Leader". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018.
  15. ^ Arraf, Jane (7 August 2014). "Islamic State persecution of Yazidi minority amounts to genocide, UN says". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  16. ^ a b Blair, David (6 June 2015). "Isil's Yazidi 'mass conversion' video fails to hide brutal duress". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  17. ^ "ISIS Terror: One Yazidi's Battle to Chronicle the Death of a People". MSNBC. 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  18. ^ Tagay, Sefik; Ayhan, Dogan; Catani, Claudia; Schnyder, Ulrich; Teufel, Martin (2017). "The 2014 Yazidi genocide and its effect on Yazidi diaspora". The Lancet. 390 (10106): 1946. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32701-0. PMID 29115224. S2CID 40913754.
  19. ^ Slater, Andrew (13 June 2014). "Kurdish Forces are Pushing Back Against ISIS, Gaining Ground Around Mosul". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  20. ^ Phillips, David L. (29 November 2018). The Great Betrayal: How America Abandoned the Kurds and Lost the Middle East. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781786735768 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ Phillips, David L. (5 July 2017). The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East. Routledge. ISBN 9781351480369 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "Vzlet i padeniye "Islamskogo gosudarstva"" Взлет и падение "Исламского государства" [The Rise and Fall of the Islamic State]. TUT.BY (in Russian). 14 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  23. ^ Açikyildiz, Birgül (16 October 2014). The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-78453-216-1 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (13 August 2015). "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  25. ^ Protection of minority religions in moderate Islam, for details see: People of the Book.
  26. ^ Staff (9 August 2014). "Islamic State militants tell 300 Yazidi families: convert or die". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  27. ^ Çelebi, Evliya (1991). The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman: Melek Ahmed Pasha (1588–1662). Translated by Dankoff, Robert. SUNY Press. pp. 169–171. ISBN 0-7914-0640-7.
  28. ^ Gölbasi, Edip (2008). The Yezidis and the Ottoman State: Modern power, military conscription, and conversion policies, 1830-1909 (Master's). Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History.. See also: Fuccaro, Nelida (April 1999). "Communalism and the State in Iraq: The Yazidi Kurds, c.1869-1940". Middle Eastern Studies. 35 (2): 6. doi:10.1080/00263209908701264.
  29. ^ "Al-Qaeda blamed for Yazidi carnage". The Scotsman. 16 August 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  30. ^ a b Sly, Liz (10 August 2014). "Exodus from the mountain: Yazidis flood into Iraq following US airstrikes". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  31. ^ Khalel, Sheren; Vickery, Matthew (12 December 2014). "Playing Dead: How one man survived an IS massacre". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  32. ^ a b Stout, David (6 August 2014). "Be Captured and Killed, or Risk Dying of Thirst: The Awful Choice Facing the Refugees of Sinjar". Time. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  33. ^ "UN Security Council condemns attacks by Iraqi jihadists". BBC News. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  34. ^ Levs, Josh (7 August 2014). "Will anyone stop ISIS?". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  35. ^ Packer, George (6 August 2014). "A Friend Flees the Horror of ISIS". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014 Archived 2 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  37. ^ Withnall, Adam (10 August 2014). "Iraq crisis: Islamic militants 'buried alive Yazidi women and children in attack that killed 500'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  38. ^ a b "Islamisté povraždili 500 jezídů, ženy a děti zaživa pohřbili, tvrdí Bagdád" [Islamists killed 500 Yazidis, buried women and children alive, Baghdad claims] (in Czech). Novinky.cz. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  39. ^ a b Rasheed, Ahmed (10 August 2014). "Exclusive: Iraq says Islamic State killed 500 Yazidis, buried some victims alive". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  40. ^ Chulov, Martin (11 August 2014). "Yazidis tormented by fears for women and girls kidnapped by Isis jihadis". Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  41. ^ Joshi, Priya (8 August 2014). "Iraq Crisis: Hundreds of Yazidi Women Held as Slaves by Islamic State Militants". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  42. ^ "ISIL killed 500 Yazidis, took 300 women as slaves: Iraq govt". 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  43. ^ Rasheed, Ahmed (11 August 2014). "Islamic State kills 500 Yazidis, burying some alive, says human rights minister". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  44. ^ Yacoub, Sameer N. "Iraq Official: Militants Hold 100s of Yazidi Women". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  45. ^ "Islamic State forces kill hundreds of Yazidi minority in Iraq threaten Kurdish capital". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  46. ^ Gander, Kashmira (8 August 2014). "Iraq crisis: Hundreds of Yazidi women taken captive by Islamic State militants". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  47. ^ Krohn, Jonathan (10 August 2014). "Iraq crisis: 'It is death valley. Up to 70 per cent of them are dead'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  48. ^ a b Coren, Anna; Carter, Chelsea J. "Report: U.S. airstrikes carried out as part of Iraqi effort to retake Mosul Dam". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  49. ^ a b Zavadski, Katie. "ISIS Just Killed 80 More Yazidis in an Iraqi Village". New York. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  50. ^ a b Miller, Paul (18 November 2015). "The ISIS Victims You Don't See—World Snoozes as Yazidis Massacred". Observer. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  51. ^ "Islamic State: Militants 'kill 300 Yazidi captives'". BBC News. 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  52. ^ "Report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence1" (PDF). United Nations Security Council. 15 April 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  53. ^ ""daeish" yakhtatif akthur min 400 aimra'at ayazidiat fi sinjar wayuazieuhuna ealaa mueaskarayn limumarasa "jihad alnikahi"" "داعش" يختطف اكثر من 400 امرأة ايزيدية في سنجار ويوزعهن على معسكرين لممارسة "جهاد النكاح" [ISIS kidnaps more than 400 Yazidi women in Sinjar and distributes them to two camps to practice “sexual jihad”] (in Arabic). Almasalah.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  54. ^ Shubert, Atika; Naik, Bharati (6 October 2015). "ISIS 'forced pregnant Yazidi women to have abortions'". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  55. ^ Brekke, Kira (8 September 2014). "ISIS Is Attacking Women, And Nobody Is Talking About It". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  56. ^ Watson, Ivan (30 October 2014). "'Treated like cattle': Yazidi women sold, raped, enslaved by ISIS". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014.
  57. ^ Ahmed, Havidar (14 August 2014). "The Yezidi Exodus, Girls Raped by ISIS Jump to their Death on Mount Shingal". Rudaw Media Network. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  58. ^ Nebehay, Stephanie (2 October 2014). "Islamic State committing 'staggering' crimes in Iraq: U.N. report". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  59. ^ Spencer, Richard (14 October 2014). "Isil carried out massacres and mass sexual enslavement of Yazidis, UN confirms". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  60. ^ a b "Dr Widad Akrawi Interviewed at RojNews: How should the international community classify the systematic massacre of the Yezidi civilians in Sinjar by IS jihadists that included taking Yezidi girls as sex slaves". Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  61. ^ "Dr Widad Akrawi awarded International Pfeffer Peace Prize". Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  62. ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Receives the Pfeffer Peace Award". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  63. ^ "Dr Akrawi Dedicated Peace Award to Yezidis, Christians and Kobane". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  64. ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Barış ödülünü Kobanê ve Şengal'e adadı" [Dr. Widad Akrawi dedicated his Peace Prize to Kobanê and Shengal] (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  65. ^ "Peace award dedicated to Kobanî and Şengal". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  66. ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Xelata Aştiyê pêşkêşî Kobanê û Şengalê hat kirin" [Dr. Widad Akrawi was presented with the Peace Prize in Kobanê and Shengal] (in Kurdish). Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  67. ^ "Xelata Aştiyê diyarî Kobanê hat kirin" [The Peace Prize was presented to Kobanê] (in Kurdish). Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  68. ^ a b "Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now". Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  69. ^ "Report: ISIS fed unsuspecting Yazidi sex slave her own child". AOL.com. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  70. ^ a b "Daughters of the Sun". 52 Documentary (short documentary). Voice of America. 7 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  71. ^ "IS "Price List" For Yazidi And Christian Females Verified By UN Official". Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  72. ^ "Isis Price List For Yazidi And Christian Females As Young As One Confirmed As Genuine By UN Official". 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    "ISIS Executes 19 Girls For Refusing Sex With Its Fighters". 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    "Isis Price List for Yazidi & Christian females as young as one confirmed genuine by UN Official". Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  73. ^ "19 Girls Executed for Refusing to have Sex with ISIS Fighters". 8 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    "Yazidi sex slave who claims she was raped by 'American teacher turned ISIS jihadi' to testify to Congress". Detroit Newstime. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  74. ^ "Horrific treatment of 11-year-old Yazidi sex slave forced to protect her depraved ISIS captor from gunfire". Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  75. ^ "Isis 'price list' for child slaves confirmed as genuine by UN official Zainab Bangura". The Independent. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  76. ^ "19 girls were executed by ISIS for refusing to have sex with the jihadists, UN recovered a price list of Yazidi girls". Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  77. ^ a b c d Hinnant, Lori; Alleruzzo, Maya; Szlanko, Balint (5 July 2016). "Islamic State tightens grip on captives held as sex slaves". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  78. ^ Borda, Aldo (2022). "Putting Reproductive Violence on the Agenda: A Case Study of the Yazidis". Journal of Genocide Research. 26: 1–21. doi:10.1080/14623528.2022.2100594. S2CID 250974007.
  79. ^ Malik, Nikita (2017). Trafficking Terror: How Modern Slavery and Sexual Violence Fund Terrorism. Henry Jackson Society. ISBN 978-1-909035-34-8.
  80. ^ "Freeing Yazidi Women: Combating a 21st Century Slavery Revival Project". Wilson Center. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  81. ^ Hagedorn, Elizabeth (4 March 2020). "Rescuers scour Syria for Yazidis still trapped in enslavement". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  82. ^ Dawod, Saman (6 July 2020). "Yazidis still negotiating return of kidnapped women, children". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  83. ^ Said, Rodi (14 June 2017). "Revenge for Sinjar: Syrian Kurds free Islamic State slaves". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  84. ^ "Syria Kurds return 25 Yazidis freed from ISIS to Iraq". Al Arabiya. 13 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  85. ^ Semple, Kirk (14 November 2014). "Yazidi Girls Seized by ISIS Speak Out After Escape". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017.
  86. ^ Gönültaş, Hale (31 July 2020). "Yazidi woman rescued from captivity, trafficking in Turkish capital". Duvar. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  87. ^ "ISIS Telafer Commander abducted a 14 years old Yazidi girl and brought to Ankara, Turkey". Boldmedya. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  88. ^ "Islamic State tries to shore up relevance with Iraq carnage". BBC News. 23 January 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  89. ^ Ari, Lior Ben; Zitun, Yoav (3 October 2024). "Yazidi woman kidnapped by ISIS in Iraq rescued from Gaza by Israel". Ynetnews. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  90. ^ "Free at last: Yazidi woman held in Gaza finally leaves enclave". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  91. ^ a b "Islamic State Seeks to Justify Enslaving Yazidi Women and Girls in Iraq". Newsweek. Reuters. 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  92. ^ Athena Yenko, "Judgment Day Justifies Sex Slavery Of Women – ISIS Out With Its 4th Edition Of Dabiq Magazine", Archived 18 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine International Business Times-Australia, 13 October 2014.
  93. ^ McDuffee, Allen (13 October 2014). "ISIS Is Now Bragging About Enslaving Women and Children". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018.
  94. ^ Abdelaziz, Salma (13 October 2014). "ISIS states its justification for the enslavement of women". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015.
  95. ^ Spencer, Richard (13 October 2014). "Thousands of Yazidi women sold as sex slaves 'for theological reasons', says Isil". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  96. ^ "Slavery in Islam: To have and to hold - The Economist". The Economist. 18 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  97. ^ El-Masri, Samar (2018). "Prosecuting ISIS for the sexual slavery of the Yazidi women and girls". The International Journal of Human Rights. 22 (8): 1047–1066. doi:10.1080/13642987.2018.1495195. Regardless of ISIS's interpretation of certain Quranic verses to justify their explicit practice of sexual slavery – which was publicly refuted by dozens of Islamic scholars – and regardless of the social, cultural and religious reasons that may clarify ISIS's disregard of girls' and women's rights, the victims deserve justice.
  98. ^ Malas, Nour (18 November 2014). "Ancient Prophecies Motivate Islamic State Militants: Battlefield Strategies Driven by 1,400-year-old Apocalyptic Ideas". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  99. ^ Smith, Amelia (9 December 2014). "ISIS Publishes Pamphlet On How to Treat Female Slaves". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017.
  100. ^ Botelho, Greg (13 December 2014). "ISIS: Enslaving, having sex with 'unbelieving' women, girls is OK". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014.
  101. ^ Lackey, Katharine (13 December 2014). "Pamphlet provides Islamic State guidelines for sex slaves". USA Today. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017.
  102. ^ Lodge, Carey (15 December 2014). "Islamic State issues abhorrent sex slavery guidelines about how to treat women". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017.
  103. ^ Withnall, Adam (10 December 2014). "Isis releases 'abhorrent' sex slaves pamphlet with 27 tips for militants on taking, punishing and raping female captives". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  104. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (13 August 2015). "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  105. ^ Salih, Mohammed; van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (5 August 2014). "Iraqi Yazidis: 'If we move they will kill us'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  106. ^ "PKK 'terrorists' crucial to fight against ISIS". Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  107. ^ "They're saving Yazidis yet ignored by the US—why?". Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  108. ^ "PKK saved us when peshmergas ran away: Yazidis". Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  109. ^ "Smugglers and Kurdish militants help Iraq's Yazidis flee to Turkey". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  110. ^ "Yazidi Refugees Recount Desperate Struggle To Flee Islamist Militants In Iraq". Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  111. ^ "A U.S.-designated terrorist group is saving Yazidis and battling the Islamic State". Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  112. ^ "Kurds unite to fight militants, rescue 30,000 Yazidi civilians". Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  113. ^ a b "The Drama of Sinjar: Escaping the Islamic State in Iraq". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  114. ^ "General Majid, Who Gave His Life For Others". The American Conservative. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  115. ^ Morris, Loveday (20 October 2014). "Islamic State seizes two Yazidi villages as it advances on Mount Sinjar". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  116. ^ "UN: Assault on Yazidis may be genocide attempt". The Washington Post. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  117. ^ "Yazidi teenager captured by Isis says they were planning 'big, big attack' on Europe". The Independent. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  118. ^ Cockburn, Patrick (18 April 2018). "Yazidis who suffered under Isis face forced conversion to Islam amid fresh persecution in Afrin". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018.
  119. ^ Jalabi, Raya (10 December 2017). "Yazidis caught in 'political football' between Baghdad, Iraqi Kurds". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  120. ^ "Yazidi mass grave found in Iraq's Sinjar". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  121. ^ "Two Yazidi Mass Graves Reportedly Uncovered in Iraq". Al Bawaba. 16 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  122. ^ Evans, Margaret (16 April 2021). "Beekeeper turned spymaster searches for Iraq's missing Yazidis". CBC. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  123. ^ Hagedorn, Elizabeth (4 March 2020). "Rescuers scour Syria for Yazidis still trapped in enslavement". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  124. ^ Yacoub, Sameer N. (8 April 2015). "Islamic State releases over 200 Iraqi Yazidis after 8 months as captives". Toronto. The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  125. ^ "Iraqi forces free group of Yazidi women from Islamic State: ministry". Reuters. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  126. ^ The New Arab (17 March 2016). "Iraqi forces free Yazidi women held by IS". Al Araby. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  127. ^ "HPG and YBŞ-YJŞ free 51 Êzidîs from ISIS". Anf News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  128. ^ "53 more Êzîdîs freed from ISIS". Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  129. ^ "Iraq: Revenge attacks in Sinjar – Arab civilians pay the price for IS crimes" (PDF). Amnesty International. 10 June 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  130. ^ "HCDH | UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria: ISIS is committing genocide against the Yazidis". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  131. ^ "OHCHR | Statement by the Commission of Inquiry on Syria on the second anniversary of 3 August 2014 attack by ISIS of the Yazidis". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  132. ^ a b c Moore, Jack (4 February 2016). "European Parliament recognizes ISIS killings of religious minorities as genocide". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  133. ^ "Armenian Parliament recognizes Yazidi genocide". armenpress.am. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  134. ^ "The pain of hearing: Australia's parliament recognises Yazidi genocide". www.lowyinstitute.org. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  135. ^ a b Wintour, Patrick (20 April 2016). "MPs unanimously declare Yazidis and Christians victims of Isis genocide". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  136. ^ a b Kathleen Harris (25 October 2016). "'Above politics': MPs vote unanimously to bring Yazidi refugees to Canada in 4 months". CBC News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  137. ^ a b Labott, Elise (17 March 2016). "U.S. to declare genocide in Iraq and Syria". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  138. ^ Begikhani, Nazand. "Why ISIS's treatment of Yazidi women must be treated as genocide". CNN. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  139. ^ Karadsheh, Jomana; Jackson, Chris (11 October 2017). "Fighting to bring ISIS to justice for war crimes against Yazidis". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  140. ^ "UN: ISIS May Have Committed Genocide Against Yazidis". Huffington Post. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  141. ^ "ISIL's 'genocide' against Yazidis is ongoing, UN rights panel says, calling for international action". United Nations. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  142. ^ Schaack, Beth Van (2018). "The Iraq Investigative Team and Prospects for Justice for the Yazidi Genocide". Journal of International Criminal Justice. 16: 113–139. doi:10.1093/jicj/mqy002.
  143. ^ a b "ISIL crimes against Yazidis constitute genocide, UN investigation team finds". UN News. United Nations. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  144. ^ "ISIL committed genocide against Yazidis: UN investigation". Al Jazeera. 11 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  145. ^ Bolle, Isabel (12 May 2021). "VN-experts: IS is schuldig aan genocide op yezidi's" [UN experts: IS is guilty of genocide of Yazidis]. Trouw (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  146. ^ Parliamentary Assembly (27 January 2016). "Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. Resolution 2091 (2016)". assembly.coe.int. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  147. ^ a b European Parliament (4 February 2016). "European Parliament resolution of 4 February 2016 on the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by the so-called 'ISIS/Daesh'". europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  148. ^ Buchwald, Todd F. (March 2019). "By Any Other Name. How, When, and Why the US Government Has Made Genocide Determinations" (PDF). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  149. ^ "Scottish Parliament recognizes genocide against the Yezidi people". ARA News. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  150. ^ "Meeting of the Parliament 23 March 2017: Justice for Yazidi People". parliament.scot. Scottish Parliament. 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  151. ^ Mareschal, Edouard de (6 December 2016). "Le Sénat vote une résolution pour reconnaître le "génocide" des minorités d'Orient" [The Senate passes a resolution to recognize the “genocide” of Eastern minorities]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  152. ^ Fromion, Yves (25 May 2016). "Proposition de résolution invitant le Gouvernement à saisir le Conseil de Sécurité de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en vue de reconnaître le génocide perpétré par Daech contre les populations chrétiennes, yézidies et d'autres minorités religieuses en Syrie et en Irak et de donner compétence à la Cour Pénale Internationale en vue de poursuivre les criminels" [Proposal for a resolution inviting the Government to refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council with a view to recognizing the genocide perpetrated by Daesh against the Christian, Yazidi and other religious minorities populations in Syria and Iraq and to give jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court to prosecute criminals]. assemblee-nationale.fr (in French). National Assembly of France. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  153. ^ "Reconnaissance du génocide perpétré par Daec" [Recognition of the genocide perpetrated by Daesh]. assemblee-nationale.fr (in French). National Assembly of Franc. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  154. ^ "Armenia Recognises Genocide of Yazidis in Iraq". France 24. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  155. ^ "Israel votes against formally recognizing Yazidi massacres by IS as genocide". i24 News. 21 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  156. ^ Ochab, Ewelina U. (4 March 2021). "Iraq Adopts New Law To Assist Survivors Of The Daesh Genocide". Forbes. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  157. ^ "New Iraqi law 'major step' in assisting ISIL's female victims but more must be done". UN News. United Nations. 21 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  158. ^ Struys, Bruno (30 June 2021). "Kamer erkent misdaden op jezidi's als genocide en vraagt engagement regering: 'Vandaag krijgen zij hun waardigheid terug'" [Chamber recognizes crimes against Yezidis as genocide and asks government commitment: 'Today they will get their dignity back']. De Morgen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  159. ^ "Belgian parliament unanimously recognizes Yazidi genocide". Archived from the original on 8 August 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  160. ^ Swolfs, Lennard (6 July 2021). "Kamer erkent IS-misdaden tegen jezidi's als genocide: 'Belangrijke eerste stap'" [Chamber recognizes IS crimes against Yazidis as genocide: 'Important first step']. NOS (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  161. ^ "German lawmakers recognise Islamic State crimes against Yazidis as genocide". Reuters. 19 January 2023. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  162. ^ "Verfolgung der Jesiden als Völkermord anerkannt" [Persecution of Yazidis recognized as genocide]. Tagesschau (in German). 19 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  163. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Yezidi Genocide Timeline". Free Yezidi Foundation. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  164. ^ a b c Zoonen, Dave; Wirya, Khogir. "The Yazidis Perceptions of Reconciliation and Conflict" (PDF). Middle East Research Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  165. ^ "Statement by the President". The White House. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  166. ^ "Kurdish pershmerga forces prepare escape route for Yazidis trapped on Sinjar". The Guardian. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  167. ^ "How the US pulled off its humanitarian aid missions to the Yazidis". Global Post. 15 August 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  168. ^ "UN exhumes Yazidi mass graves from Islamic State massacre in northern Iraq". France 24. 13 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  169. ^ "This Is How ISIS Members Justify Sexual Slavery". Buzz Feed News. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  170. ^ "ISIS genocide of Yezidis and Christians". Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United States. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  171. ^ "ISIS has lost its final stronghold in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces says". CNN. 23 March 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  172. ^ "U.S. Forces Kill ISIS Founder, Leader Baghdadi in Syria". United States Department of Defense. 27 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  173. ^ "Iraq: Yezidi reparations law progress welcome, but more must be done to assist survivors". Relief Web. 2 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  174. ^ "Iraq's Yazidi community buries 104 victims of IS massacre". BBC News. 7 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  175. ^ "Muslims Against ISIS Part 1: Clerics & Scholars". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  176. ^ Sultan, Sohaib N. "ISIS Is Ignoring Islam's Teachings on Yazidis and Christians". Time. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  177. ^ "Australian Muslim groups condemn use of slaves". ABC News. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  178. ^ Noack, Rick (8 August 2014). "When Obama talks about Iraq, his use of the word 'genocide' is vital". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  179. ^ J. Carter, Chelsea; Tawfeeq, Mohammed; Starr, Barbara (9 August 2014). "Officials: U.S. airstrikes pound ISIS militants firing at Iraq's Yazidis". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  180. ^ "Thousands of Yazidis rescued, Iraqi official says". CNN. 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  181. ^ Siddique, Haroon (10 August 2014). "20,000 Iraqis besieged by Isis escape from mountain after US air strikes". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  182. ^ Chulov, Martin; Borger, Julian; Norton-Taylor, Richard; Roberts, Dan (13 August 2014). "US troops land on Iraq's Mt Sinjar to plan for Yazidi evacuation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  183. ^ "Aug. 13: Update on Humanitarian Assistance Operations Near Sinjar, Iraq". United States Central Command. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  184. ^ DeYoung, Karen; Whitlock, Craig (14 August 2014). "Rescue mission for Yazidis on Iraq's Mount Sinjar appears unnecessary, Pentagon says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  185. ^ a b Sly, Liz; Whitlock, Craig (14 August 2014). "Most Yazidis have been rescued from a besieged mountain in northern Iraq". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  186. ^ Ochab, Ewelina (4 August 2022). "Eight Years Later, The World is Yet To Address The Daesh Atrocities And Assist The Yazidis". Forbes. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  187. ^ "Turkey to build camp inside Iraq for Yazidis". Hurriyet Daily News. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  188. ^ "UNHCR steps up aid as Yazidis stream into Syria from Iraq's Mount Sinjar". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  189. ^ "Turkey gives refuge to 2,000 Yazidis fleeing ISIS militants in Iraq". The Straits Times. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  190. ^ "Turkey Gives Sanctuary to Hundreds of Yazidis Fleeing Iraq". Naharnet.com. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  191. ^ "Yazidis start to settle in camp built by Turkey's disaster agency". Hurriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  192. ^ "IŞİD 150 Bin Kişiyi Yerinden Etti" [ISIS Displaces 150,000 People] (in Turkish). Aktif Haber. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  193. ^ "Number of Yazidi refugees in Turkey swells to 16,000: Official - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  194. ^ "10 days in Iraq: Aid drops, air-strikes and 200,000 new refugees". BBC News. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  195. ^ "Davutoğlu: Turkish aid air-dropped to Yazidis in Sinjar mountains". Today's Zaman. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  196. ^ "UN Declares a 'Level 3 Emergency' for Iraq to Ensure More Effective Humanitarian Response". United Nations Iraq. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  197. ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (19 March 2015). "ISIS Suspected of Genocide Against Yazidis in Iraq, U.N. Panel Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  198. ^ "Mid Day News – 11/08/2014 - التطورات في العراق". YouTube. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  199. ^ Addamah, Steven (12 August 2014). "MENA: Arab league accuses ISIS of "crimes against humanity"". Medafrica times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  200. ^ "Artist Jane Adams invited to join Save The Yazidis campaign". 4 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  201. ^ "USCIRF Commemorates the Eighth Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 3 August 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  202. ^ MENAFN. "Yazidi women seek justice in U.S. court for crimes committed by ISIL". menafn.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  203. ^ Johnston, Holly (23 April 2021). "German court convicts ISIS woman of crimes against humanity for Yazidi enslavement". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  204. ^ "Yazidi genocide: IS member found guilty in German landmark trial". BBC News. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  205. ^ Ochab, Ewelina (9 July 2022). "Turkey, Syria And Iraq Face Allegations Of Failing To Prevent And Punish The Daesh Genocide". Forbes. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  206. ^ Kaur Garg, Moohita (11 July 2024). "ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's wife, Asma Mohammed, sentenced to death for 'crimes against humanity'". WION.
  207. ^ Taib Menmy, Dana (11 July 2024). "Iraqi court sentences Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's widow to death for collaborating with ISIS". The New Arab.
  208. ^ Lawler, Dave (19 April 2021). "Amy Klobuchar and Lindsey Graham call on Biden to resettle Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS". Axios. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
edit