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54-655: The alliance was originally created in October 2015, after the August 2014 Sinjar massacre , and included the Êzîdxan Protection Force (HPŞ), which in fact provided the largest contingent of fighters (claiming at the time of the operation 5,000 fighters, including about 400 women). However, the HPŞ left the alliance in early 2017 due to ideological differences with the PKK -backed YBŞ and YJÊ . The Alliance aims to establish democratic confederalism in

108-606: A Kurdish occupied area, and not being Muslim . Yazidi officials signed a letter in September, 2019 saying: "the current events in northeastern Syria, if not halted, will annihilate Yazidis from their ancestral homeland in Syria". These threats maintain constant, even though the offensive is effectively over, in the time before Turkey halted it's offensive, approximately 170,000 citizens were displaced, many of which were Yazidi. Turkey ultimately failed at capturing any majority Yazidi areas. It

162-503: A 16-aircraft mission including US C-17s and C-130Hs, an Australian C-130J, and a British C-130J delivered supplies to mostly Yezidi civilians stranded on Mount Sinjar. On 7 August 2014, the U.S. President, Barack Obama , stated that the U.S. was starting air strikes to prevent a potential massacre ( genocide ) by ISIL of thousands of Yazidis trapped in the Sinjar Mountains . Obama further defended his decision by saying: The world

216-551: A Yazidi autonomous region in Sinjar. The YBŞ is a militia that is made up of only Yazidi people, both men and women, with roots dating back to 2007. The YPG , a PKK affiliated militia known for its women fighters, played a large role in the training of YBŞ forces. In the summer of 2015, the number of soldiers in the YBŞ totaled around 2,000 Yazidi men and women. This number continues to rise due to training by YPG and other support. The YBŞ assisted

270-669: A monotheistic God. The Yazidi people have been subjected to persecution for their entire existence. In the age of the Ottoman Empire , the Yazidis suffered 72 Genocidal Massacres . Prior to ISIS, Al-Qaeda identified the Yazidis as " Infidels ". To this day the trend continues, Cale Salih wrote, "The rise of Islamic fundamentalism more broadly has pushed thousands of Yazidis to seek asylum in Europe". According to estimates, 70,000 people, or about 15% of

324-440: A much more global scope by using PKK rhetoric known as Jineology . Currently, YJÊ ideology maintains an aggressive stance; in 2017, YJÊ issued a statement: "We repeat over and over again that we are continuing our struggle and resistance anywhere for kidnapped Yazidi women and all oppressed women, we will hold the struggle flag high and continue our battle against all kinds of oppression and persecution wherever it existed". The HPS

378-614: A result, many of these women are at the forefront of the battle between ISIS and the Yazidis, "There is no one like them!" Joined by their female soldiers, the YPG , the YJÊ plays a crucial role in defending the Yazidi people from IS attacks. The YPG provides three months of ideological training to new recruits. Much of this ideology comes from the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan . This mainly consists of making them to "know who they are, what they are doing, what it

432-471: A safe corridor was established from the mountain enabling 10,000 people to evacuate on the first day. Kurdish fighters of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) entered the Sinjar Mountains with trucks and tractors to carry out the sick and elderly into Syria via a path that was cleared by Syrian Kurdish militants ( YPG ). According to Dr. Salim Hassan, a professor at the University of Sulaymaniyah and spokesman of

486-630: A war zone. How can Yazidis recover from this genocide or go back home". Sinjar massacre Supported by: Major insurgent attacks Foreign interventions IS genocide of minorities IS war crimes Timeline The Sinjar massacre ( Kurdish : Komkujiya Şengalê ) marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL , the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh Governorate and

540-535: Is confronted by many challenges. And while America has never been able to right every wrong, America has made the world a more secure and prosperous place. And our leadership is necessary to underwrite the global security and prosperity that our children and our grandchildren will depend upon. We do so by adhering to a set of core principles. We do whatever is necessary to protect our people. We support our allies when they're in danger. We lead coalitions of countries to uphold international norms. And we strive to stay true to

594-580: Is estimated that over 200,000 Yazidi people remain homeless or in shelters as a result of persecution by IS. YJÊ Soldier: "For ISIS it's a haram. If you're killed by a woman, you don't go to paradise". Following the Turkish airstrikes on the Yazidi in August 2018, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Nadia Murad said: "Today Turkey carried several air strikes in different locations in Sinjar. Sinjar continues to be

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648-466: Is one of the original three Yazidian resistance groups. It consisted of over 5,000 fighters, of which approximately 400 are women. HPS is led by Yazidian military commander, Haydar Shesho . In the initial attacks on Mount Sinjar , the HPS can be credited with protecting the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar as well as providing them with supplies to the best of their ability. The HPS did not share the same PKK ideology as

702-476: Is to be equal. It's easy to teach them to shoot, but psychologically".... YPG trains many survivors of ISIS captivity, stating: "Isis took those women and children because they wanted to destroy their honour. We help train the Yazidi women to defend themselves and then they can control their own future". The founding goals of YJÊ were to defend Yazidi women's rights and Yazidi tradition as well as to protect Mount Sinjar . As time has passed, YJÊ ideology has taken on

756-654: The Council of Representatives of Iraq said that between 2 and 5 August 500 Yazidi men had been killed in the city of Sinjar by ISIL, women had been killed or sold into slavery, and 70 children had died from thirst or suffocation while fleeing the ISIL advance. From the findings of a joint October 2014 report of the OHCHR and UNAMI , ISIL had massacred up to 5,000 Yazidi men during August 2014. Kurdistan Region estimated in December 2014 that

810-683: The Kurdish Peshmerga , PKK and YPG forces started the December 2014 Sinjar offensive with the support of US and British airstrikes. This offensive broke ISIL's troop transport routes and supply lines between Mosul and Raqqa , the largest cities in the hands of ISIL at the time. According to Noori Abdulrahman, the head of the Department of Coordination and Follow-up of the Kurdistan Regional Government , ISIL wanted to push most of

864-516: The Sinjar Mountains located to the city's north, sustained by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter, while an escape road from the mountains northward to Kurdish areas was under Kurdish/Yazidi control. American officials said that some of those Yazidis considered the Sinjar Mountains a place of refuge and home and did not want to leave; while a report from The New Yorker said some were afraid to return to their homes. Other Yazidis also came to

918-455: The Sinjar Mountains were under siege by ISIL. Tahseen Said , the emir of the Yazidis, issued an appeal to world leaders on 3 August 2014, asking for humanitarian help to aid those who were besieged by ISIL. On 4 August, Kurdish fighters reportedly battled ISIL to retake Sinjar. On 7 August 2014, The New York Times reported that ISIL had executed dozens of Yazidi men in Sinjar city and had taken their wives for forced marriage. It

972-800: The YBŞ and the YJÊ and have since left the Sinjar Alliance. ISIS attacks on Sinjar City began on August 3, 2014. As Peshmerga troops fled Sinjar , YPG units moved in to fight IS forces. Despite YPG efforts, many Yazidis were forced to flee up Mount Sinjar , those who didn't make it were either enslaved or murdered. Since 2014 ISIS murdered 10,000 men and boys over the age of twelve, with about seventy mass graves discovered. Yazidi women and girls who encountered ISIS were enslaved and raped, with numbers totalling to over 7,000 victims. Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar in August 2014 were left without food or water in extreme heat . The U.S. provided some aid to

1026-436: The Yazidis , per Iraqi Government request. Airstrikes directed towards ISIS strongholds played a key role in holding off ISIS advances towards Mount Sinjar . The majority of Yazidis found safe passage through a corridor into Iraqi Kurdistan , provided by the YPG , PKK , HPS and the newly formed YBŞ . The Yazidis are a group of indigenous people from Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They practice an ancient religion that worships

1080-519: The IS. One soldier who fought alongside Sheikh Khairy Khedr stated, "all the men cried for Sheikh Khairy. They said, ‘If we lose Sheikh Khairy, we will become 1,000 Sheikh Khairy's. We will resist'. Still, they cried'". Zaki Shingali led the YBŞ after Sheikh Khairy Kedr . Shingali died in 2018, just minutes after attending a vigil for those Yazidi's that lost their lives in the ISIS assault on Sinjar . His vehicle

1134-675: The Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Sinjar abandoned the city, leaving the civilians behind without warning. There is general agreement that the majority of the forces in Shingal on that day were affiliated with the KDP , despite wildly varying estimates as to troop levels. KDP commanders claim that there were 2,000–4,000 KDP troops in the area. Similarly, Shex Alo, the KDP frontline commander for Shingal section, claims that there were 2,000 KDP fighters in

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1188-641: The Islamic State was genocide. 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. On 10 August 2014, at approximately 2:15 a.m. ET,

1242-723: The Kurds out of strategic areas and bring in Arabs who were obedient to ISIL. Sinjar was predominantly inhabited by Yazidis before the arrival of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant . On 29 June 2014, the Islamic State declared a caliphate in the contiguous areas of Syria and Iraq it controlled, after it had made significant advances in northern Iraq during the Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) . After Iraqi federal military forces fled from

1296-625: The Sinjar Alliance in 2017 to join the Peshmerga and serve under the Kurdish Government (KRG), who publicly denounced them just months before. Since the United States removed troops from the Turkish and Syrian border on October 7, 2019, Yazidis fled their home villages in Syrian Kurdistan , fearing that history will repeat itself. One villager was quoted saying, "We left in the middle of

1350-400: The Sinjar area. Almost 200,000 civilians, mostly Yazidis along with Shia , managed to flee from the fighting in Sinjar city. About 50,000 Yazidis fled into the Sinjar Mountains , where they were trapped without food, water or medical care and faced starvation and dehydration. The U.S. government, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and Western media reported that thousands of Yazidis in

1404-547: 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 . On 13 August 2014, fewer than 20 United States Special Forces troops stationed in Irbil along with Special Air Service troops visited the area near Mount Sinjar to gather intelligence and plan

1458-475: The US launched four strikes against armored fighting vehicles of ISIL fighters threatening civilians on Mount Sinjar. The continued Iraqi airdrops of food and water in the Sinjar Mountains and their picking up of some Yazidis were also backed up by the U.S. airstrikes. After the air strikes, the U.S. government spent five days discussing the possibilities and necessity of a rescue operation with U.S. ground troops or U.S. airlifts. Between 9 and 11 August 2014,

1512-656: The YBŞ and the YJÊ are at odds with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which pursues full control over the Sinjar region and publicly demands the withdrawal of PKK-linked groups. The looming presence of the Kurdish government is precisely why some Yazidi KDP politicians denounced the alliance at first, PKK involvement appeared to threaten Yazidi autonomy. The PKK however is completely separate from KRG policy, and practices " Grassroots Democracy ", one PKK militant stated, "when

1566-730: The YPG broke through ISIL lines, thus opening a corridor from Syria to the town of Sinjar. By the evening, the Peshmerga took control of much of Sinjar. Haydar Shesho Haydar Shesho is a Yazidi military commander in Iraq . He is the founder and supreme commander of the Yazidi self-defense militia Protection Force of Ezidkhan (HPÊ). Shesho's family emigrated from Iraq under Saddam Hussein in 1990 to Germany and became German citizens . Until summer 2014 they lived in Bad Oeynhausen , Germany. At

1620-542: The YPG in all actions in Sinjar . In YBŞ' early existence it assisted in maintaining supply roads for HPS and YPG as a corridor was created for Yazidi safe passage out of Sinjar . Sheikh Khairy Kedr was the first commander of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ ). He died fighting against ISIS during Sinjar massacre in 2014. He was an inspiration to the resistance, as he came from the Yazidi villages that were bombed in 2007 and spent much of his life resisting

1674-503: The Yazidi population in Iraq , has fled the country since recent persecution. Germany has absorbed most of the refugees. While U.S. airstrikes and Peshmerga assistance receive most of the praise for the rescue of the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar in 2014, most Yazidi people agree that without the PKK they would not have found safe passage to Syrian Kurdistan . PKK philosophy like Democratic Confederalism and other ideology put forth by both

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1728-421: The Yazidi village of Kocho , south of Sinjar, over 80 men were killed after refusing to convert to Islam. A witness recounted that the villagers were first converted under duress, According to reports from survivors interviewed by OHCHR , on 15 August, the entire male population of the Yazidi village of Kocho, up to 400 men, were rounded up and shot by ISIL, and up to 1,000 women and children were abducted. On

1782-506: The Yazidis in the mountains. The US began their own supply drops on 7 August and the UK participated 3 days later. French aid was also promised. On 12 August, an Iraqi military helicopter, piloted by Maj. Gen. Majid Abdul Salam Ashour, crashed in the mountains while delivering aid and rescuing stranded Yazidi refugees. The general was killed in the crash, while most of the passengers, including Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil , were injured. On 13 August,

1836-591: The advancing ISIL troops, local residents seized their abandoned weapons in case of an attack by the Islamic State. Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga fighters then moved into and took control of much of the abandoned territory in northern Iraq from their stronghold in the Kurdistan Region . The Peshmerga confiscated the weapons the Iraqi Army had abandoned, assuring residents that they would protect them. As ISIL attacked Sinjar and neighboring cities,

1890-646: The area, along with one additional Peshmerga brigade and PUK units. Meanwhile most others, including but not limited to HPÊ commander Haydar Shesho and Senior Gorran Movement official Mustafa Saed Qadir who was the Minister of Peshmerga Affairs at the time and had some Peshmerga brigades in Shingal under his control, estimate that there were many more, around 11,000–15,000 troops stationed. The villagers defended themselves with their own weapons, but ISIL fighters shelled them with mortars. By 3 a.m., ISIL fighters had broken through, and began killing anyone seen outdoors. On

1944-465: The area. 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 them being Yazidi herders who lived there before

1998-417: The area. They reported that "the situation is much more manageable", that there were now far fewer Yazidis on the mountain than expected, and that those Yazidis were in relatively good condition. A U.S. rescue mission for those still on the mountain was therefore "far less likely now", said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel . The U.S. government officially declared the siege to be broken on 13 August 2014. This

2052-402: The coming months by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter. On 7 August 2014, U.S. President 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

2106-550: The comrades liberate a village, they let the community to decide for itself". The KRG has publicly stated its distaste with the PKK regularly. After they left the Sinjar Alliance in 2017, leader of the Sinjar Defense Units (HPS), Haydar Shesho stated that PKK groups, like the Sinjar Alliance (YBŞ and YJÊ), have no business in the Sinjar region. After over two years of fighting, the Sinjar Defense Units (HPS) left

2160-416: 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. 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

2214-511: The fundamental values – the desire to live with basic freedom and dignity – that is common to human beings wherever they are. That's why people all over the world look to the United States of America to lead. And that's why we do it. On 8 August 2014, US airstrikes were launched in the Erbil area, 180 km east of Sinjar. The first airstrikes in the Mount Sinjar area were reported on 9 August, when

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2268-547: The morning of 3 August 2014, ISIL forces captured the city of Sinjar as well as the Sinjar area. ISIL then detonated the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Sinjar , executed resisters, and demanded the residents swear allegiance and convert to Islam or be killed. In the surrounding villages, many residents fled immediately. According to Yazidis, ISIL fighters asked the remaining Yazidis to convert to Islam or face death, and ISIL Twitter accounts posted images of murders in

2322-530: The mountains after the August evacuations. On 21 October 2014, ISIL seized territory to the north of the mountains, cutting the area's escape route to Kurdish areas. The Yazidi militias then withdrew into the Sinjar Mountains, where the number of Yazidi civilian refugees was estimated at 2,000–7,000. The mountains had once again been partially besieged by ISIL. On 17 December 2014, Peshmerga forces, backed by 50 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on ISIL positions, launched an offensive to liberate Sinjar and to break

2376-505: The night for fear that they would kill us as happened with our people in Sinjar". The Turkish government publicly stated that it would clear its southern border of Kurds , primarily the YPG, YBŞ and other PKK backed groups, in what they claimed to be a resettlement plan for Syrian refugees living in Turkey. This put Yazidis at double the risk for persecution by the Turks and other groups, by living in

2430-663: The onset of the August 2014 Sinjar massacre , together with his uncle Qasim Shesho and several cousins, he returned to Iraq to help protect his Yazidi homeland. Starting with a handful of fighters, he founded the Protection Force of Sinjar , which has about 2,500 fighters. While he and his uncle, dubbed "The lion of Sinjar," were known to be supportive of the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraqi Kurdish president Barzani 's Kurdistan Democratic Party , he refused to pledge allegiance and publicly insisted they "fight only for Yazidis, not for any party." Subsequently, Haydar Shesho

2484-486: The partial siege of the Sinjar Mountains. In less than two days, the Peshmerga seized the mountain range. After ISIL forces retreated, Kurdish fighters were initially faced with clearing out mines in the area, but quickly opened a land corridor that enabled Yazidis to be evacuated. The operation left 100 ISIL fighters dead. Late on 21 December 2014, Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters south of the mountain range reached Peshmerga lines, thus linking their two fronts. The next day,

2538-582: The same day, up to 200 Yazidi men were reportedly executed for refusing conversion in a Tal Afar prison. The massacres took place at least until 25 August when ISIL executed 14 elderly Yazidi men in Sheikh Mand Shrine in Jidala , western Sinjar, and blew up the shrine there. A civilian reported that on 3 August 2014 alone, 2,000 Yazidis had been killed throughout the Sinjar District . A Yazidi member of

2592-453: The siege. 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". After August 2014, ISIL held the town of Sinjar . Several thousand Yazidis remained in

2646-614: The total number of killed or missing Yazidi men, women and children from Sinjar since August amounted to around 4,000. A 2017 report by the PLOS Medical Journal estimated between 2,100 and 4,400 deaths and 4,200 to 10,800 abductions. 40,000 or more Yazidis were trapped in the Sinjar Mountains and mostly surrounded by ISIL forces who were firing on them. They were largely without food, water or medical care, facing starvation and dehydration. On 5 August 2014, Iraqi military helicopters reportedly dropped some food and water for

2700-525: The uprooted Yazidis, the PKK and YPG enabled an estimated 35,000 of the initially 50,000 trapped Yazidis to escape into Syria. According to the account of the Sinjar District Governor, the route was jointly set up by Peshmerga and the YPG. On 12 or 13 August 2014, a dozen U.S. Marines and special forces servicemen landed on Mount Sinjar from CH-53E aircraft to assess options for a potential rescue of Yazidi refugees joining British SAS already in

2754-642: Was also reported that ISIL fighters executed ten caretakers of the Shia Sayeda Zeinab shrine in Sinjar before blowing it up. While the siege of Mount Sinjar was continuing, ISIL killed hundreds of Yazidis in at least six of the nearby villages. 250–300 men were killed in the village of Hardan , 200 between Adnaniya and Jazeera, 70–90 in Qiniyeh , and on the road out of al-Shimal witnesses reported seeing dozens of bodies. Hundreds of others had also been killed for refusing to convert to Islam. On 15 August 2014, in

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2808-548: Was hit by a Turkish missile. Ankara commented on his death, saying that it was a success and that one of the most wanted PKK militants had been killed. He was specifically targeted for his PKK and Kurdish roots by the Turkish government and had been identified as a senior PKK figure. The YJÊ (Êzîdxan Women's Units, "Yekinêyen Jinên Êzidxan") is a resistance unit composed of Yazidi women, many of whom are survivors of ISIS enslavement. Yazidi women and girls faced months, sometimes years of abuse from their ISIS captures. As

2862-434: Was perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The massacre began with ISIL attacking and capturing Sinjar and neighboring towns on 3 August, during its Northern Iraq offensive . On 8 August 2014, the United States and the United Kingdom responded with airstrikes on ISIL units and convoys in northern Iraq , which led to a military intervention from several countries against ISIL . On 17 December 2014,

2916-449: Was reportedly done by U.S airstrikes and Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units from Syria, together with their PKK allies from Turkey, allowing more than 50,000 refugees to escape. Despite this, according to Professor Salim Hassan, between 5,000 and 10,000 people still remained trapped in the mountains. They were reportedly afraid to return to their homes and were sustained in

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