2014 saw Yazidis in Iraq subject to genocidal atrocities. The crimes were perpetrated by Daesh, a terror group intent on the annihilation of the minority group from the region. Now, six years later, the minority group is facing yet another existential threat in the Middle East.
On May 29, 2020, Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, sent a chilling warning that “Turkish-backed militias are silently carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Yazidis in Afrin, Syria. They are kidnapping women, killing civilians, and destroying houses and shrines.”
In August 2014, thousands of Yazidis were trapped in the Sinjar mountains as they tried to escape ... [+]
Similarly, Yazda reported that “due to their religious identity, Yazidis in Afrin are suffering from targeted harassment and persecution by Turkish-backed militant groups. Crimes committed against Yazidis include forced conversion to Islam, rape of women and girls, humiliation and torture, arbitrary incarceration, and forced displacement.” They further identified that close to 80% of Yazidi religious sites in Syria have been looted, destroyed, or otherwise desecrated, including Sheikh Jened in Al-faqira village, Melak Adi temple in Qivare village, Sheikh Hussien shrine, and Chel Khana temple in Qivare village, Sheikh Rekab temple in Jedere village; their cemeteries defiled. Yazda further wanted that Yazidis in Afrin “are forced to hide their identity, unable to practice their faith, and remain frightened for their safety.”
The current situation is not a new phenomenon but a continuation of a situation neglected since the Turkish incursion into Afrin. Thousands of Yazidis have had to flee their homes in 22 affected villages. According to Yazda, approximately 3,000 Yazidis who fled Afrin now live in “three IDP camps and three villages: Al-Auda Camp, Al-Asser camp, Al-Muqawama camp, Tal Rifat village, Al-zawraq Al-kabeer, and Ziyarah villages – all located in Al-Shahba region and under the control of the Syrian Government.” Another 1,200 Yazidis fled from Ras Al-ain and to Washokani IDP camp are struggling to access humanitarian aid.
However, this is not just about the thousands of displaced persons, but also about the fates of each and every person affected. Nadia’s Initiative, an NGO founded by Nadia Murad, reported on a number of the concerning cases. Among others, they reported that Areen Hassan, a Yazidi girl, was arrested on February 27, 2020, from the village of Kamyar, Afrin. She has yet to be released. Ghazaleh Battal was kidnapped by Syrian armed factions loyal to Turkey and her fate is still unknown. Narges Dawood, a 24-year-old girl from Kemar, was killed by several bullets shot by Syrian armed factions loyal to Turkey. Fatima Hamki was killed after armed battalions threw a hand grenade at her house in the village of Qatma.
The situation require a comprehensive response. At the end of April 2020, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report, raised the issue that “religious minorities in… areas that Turkey seized earlier, such as Afrin, continued to experience persecution and marginalization, especially displaced Yazidis and Christians.” It called upon the U.S. Administration to “exert significant pressure on Turkey to provide a timeline for its withdrawal from Syria, while ensuring that neither its military nor Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies expand their area of control in northeast Syria, carry out religious and ethnic cleansing of that area, or otherwise abuse the rights of vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities there.” The U.S. Administration is yet to respond to the recommendation.
The Yazidis targeted in Syria require urgent assistance. This significant further attack puts into question the future of the community in the region. Can the community survive? Taking into account the recent targeting in Afrin, the atrocities committed by Daesh in Iraq only a few years ago, and other previous persecution, it seems unlikely.
