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Sinjar massacre

October 09, 2023

The Sinjar massacre (Kurdish: Komkujiya Şengalê) marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands[14][15][22] of Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh Governorate and 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.

Sinjar massacre
Part of the Iraqi Civil War (2014-2017), 2014 Northern Iraq offensive and the American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

Mount Sinjar
DateAugust 2014; 9 years ago (2014-08)
Location
Sinjar District, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Result
  • ISIL captured Sinjar[13] and executed thousands of Yazidis and abducted thousands of Yazidi women and children[14][15]
  • YPG and PKK, supported by US and British airstrikes, evacuate the majority of the 50,000 Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, 9–13 August
Belligerents

Supported by:

 Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Massoud Barzani
(Kurdistan Region)
Murat Karayilan
(PKK)
Maj. Gen. Majid Abdul Salam Ashour †[16]
(Iraqi Air Force)
Casualties and losses
  • 3,000 killed (approximately 12,000 Yazidis were killed or abducted by IS; per Yazda)[19][20]
  • 5,000 killed (per U.N.)[14]
  • 2,100 to 4,400 killed and 4,200 to 10,800 abducted (2017 Plos Medical survey)[15]
  • 500,000 displaced[21]

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, 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 Islamic State 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 the Kurds out of strategic areas and bring in Arabs who were obedient to ISIL.[23]

Background Edit

Main article: Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)

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 the advancing ISIL troops, local residents seized their abandoned weapons in case of an attack by the Islamic State.[24] 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.[25][26] The Peshmerga confiscated the weapons the Iraqi Army had abandoned, assuring residents that they would protect them.[24][27][28]

ISIL takeover and siege Edit

The offensive by night Edit

As ISIL attacked Sinjar and neighboring cities, the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Sinjar withdrew, leaving the civilians behind without warning.[3] 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 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.[29]

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.[3]

On the morning of 3 August 2014, ISIL forces captured the city of Sinjar[13] as well as the Sinjar area.[30] ISIL then detonated the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Sinjar, executed resisters, and demanded the residents to swear allegiance and to convert to Islam or be killed.[13]

Locals' exodus Edit

In the surrounding villages, many residents fled immediately.[30] 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 the Sinjar area.[30]

Almost 200,000 civilians, mostly Yazidis along with Shia, managed to flee from the fighting in Sinjar city.[13][31]

Sinjar mountains' siege Edit

About 50,000 Yazidis fled into the Sinjar Mountains,[31] where they were trapped without food, water or medical care[32] and faced starvation and dehydration.[31]

The U.S. government, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and Western media reported that thousands of Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains were under siege by ISIL.[33][34][35][36][37]

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.[38] On 4 August, Kurdish fighters reportedly battled ISIL to retake Sinjar.[32]

Killings throughout the Sinjar area Edit

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.[39] It was also reported that ISIL fighters executed ten caretakers of the Shia Sayeda Zeinab shrine in Sinjar before blowing it up.[40]

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.[41] Hundreds of others had also been killed for refusing to convert to Islam.[14]

Kocho massacre Edit

Further information: Kocho, Iraq § Genocide in Kocho

On 15 August 2014, in the Yazidi village of Kocho, south of Sinjar, over 80 men were killed after refusing to convert to Islam.[42][43] A witness recounted that the villagers were first converted under duress,[44] 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 the same day, up to 200 Yazidi men were reportedly executed for refusing conversion in a Tal Afar prison.[41] 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.[45]

Counts of casualties Edit

A civilian reported that on 3 August 2014 alone, 2,000 Yazidis had been killed throughout the Sinjar District.[22][46] A Yazidi member of 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.[32]

From the findings of a joint October 2014 report of the OHCHR and UNAMI,[47] ISIL had massacred up to 5000 Yazidi men during August 2014.[14] Kurdistan Region estimated in December 2014 that the total number of killed or missing Yazidi men, women and children from Sinjar since August amounted to around 4,000.[23]

A 2017 report by the PLOS Medical Journal estimated between 2,100 and 4,400 deaths and 4,200 to 10,800 abductions.[15]

Refugee crisis in the Sinjar Mountains Edit

Iraqi/US/UK/Australian food drops Edit

See also: American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
 
President Obama meeting with his national security advisors on 7 August 2014

40,000 or more Yazidis were trapped in the Sinjar Mountains and mostly surrounded by ISIL forces[48] who were firing on them.[49] They were largely without food, water or medical care,[32] facing starvation and dehydration.[31]

On 5 August 2014, Iraqi military helicopters reportedly dropped some food and water for the Yazidis in the mountains.[30] The US began their own supply drops on 7 August and the UK participated 3 days later.[50] French aid was also promised.[49]

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.[51][52] The general was killed in the crash,[53] while most of the passengers, including Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, were injured.[16]

On 13 August, 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.[54]

U.S. air strikes Edit

Main article: American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) § Obama's decision for airstrikes
U.S. F/A-18 fighters bomb ISIL artillery targets on 8 August

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.[55] Obama further defended his decision by saying:

The world 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 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.[56]

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 the US launched four strikes against armored fighting vehicles of ISIL fighters threatening civilians on Mount Sinjar.[57][58] 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.[59]

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.[33]

Sinjar rescue operations Edit

Kurdish PKK and YPG clearing a path for Yazidis Edit

Between 9[60] and 11 August 2014,[61] a safe corridor was established from the mountain enabling 10,000 people to evacuate on the first day.[60] 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 the uprooted Yazidis, the PKK and YPG enabled an estimated 35,000 of the initially 50,000 trapped Yazidis to escape into Syria.[61] According to the account of the Sinjar District Governor, the route was jointly set up by Peshmerga and the YPG.[60]

Mountain siege ends, U.S. rescue mission canceled Edit

On 12[33] or 13 August 2014, a dozen U.S. Marines and special forces servicemen landed on Mount Sinjar from V-22 aircraft to assess options for a potential rescue of Yazidi refugees joining British SAS already in the area.[10][62] 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.[33]

The U.S. government officially declared the siege to be broken on 13 August 2014. This 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,[1][3] allowing more than 50,000 refugees to escape.[63][64] Despite this, according to Professor Salim Hassan, between 5,000 and 10,000 people still remained trapped in the mountains.[61] They were reportedly afraid to return to their homes and were sustained in the coming months by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter.[65]

International responses Edit

 
Demonstration in Paris against persecution of Kurds and Yazidis.

Western military response Edit

See also: American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

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 the Islamic State was genocide.[66]

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.[67]

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.[68][69]

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 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.[70] 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.[71]

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 the siege.[72][73][74]

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".[73]

International bodies 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".[74][75] On 19 March 2015, a United Nations panel concluded that ISIL "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".[76]
  •   Arab League – On 11 August 2014, the Arab League accused ISIL of committing crimes against humanity by persecuting the Yazidis.[77][78]

NGOs Edit

 
Defend International reaching out to Yazidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, December 2014

Aftermath Edit

Sinjar offensive Edit

Main article: December 2014 Sinjar offensive

After August 2014, ISIL held the town of Sinjar.[65] Several thousand[33] Yazidis remained in the Sinjar Mountains located to the city's north, sustained by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter,[65] while an escape road from the mountains northward to Kurdish areas was under Kurdish/Yazidi control.[82] American officials said that some of those Yazidis considered the Sinjar Mountains a place of refuge and home and did not want to leave;[33] while a report from The New Yorker said some were afraid to return to their homes.[65] Other Yazidis also came to the mountains after the August evacuations.[36]

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.[82] The mountains had once again been partially besieged by ISIL.[83]

On 17 December 2014, Peshmerga forces, backed by 50 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on ISIL positions, launched an offensive to liberate Sinjar[65] and to break the partial siege of the Sinjar Mountains.[83] 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,[84] but quickly opened a land corridor that enabled Yazidis to be evacuated. The operation left 100 ISIL fighters dead.[65]

Late on 21 December 2014, Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters south of the mountain range reached Peshmerga lines, thus linking their two fronts.[83] The next day, 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.[83]

Return of Yazidi population Edit

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.[85]

In November 2017, a mass grave of about 70 people was uncovered[citation needed] and a month later in December, another mass grave was discovered holding about 90 victims.[86] According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office there are more than 200 mass graves sites across Iraq.[87] The Documentation Project run by the NGO Yazda has provided photographic and witness testimony to document dozens of mass grave sites across the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar.[88][89] In March 2019, the first mass grave site in Sinjar was exhumed by the Iraqi Mass Graves Directorate within the Martyr's Foundation and the Medical Legal Directorate under the Iraqi Ministry of Health in conjunction with UNITAD (United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL).[90][91]

See also Edit

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  86. ^ "Two Yazidi Mass Graves Reportedly Uncovered in Iraq". Al Bawaba. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  87. ^ "OHCHR | ISIL's legacy of terror: at least 200 mass graves in Iraq, says UN report". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  88. ^ Yazda Documentation Project (28 January 2016). "Mass Graves of Yazidis Killed by the Islamic State Organization or Local Affiliates On or After August 3, 2014" (PDF). Yazda.
  89. ^ Yazda Documentation Project (2018). "Working Against the Clock: Documenting Mass Graves of Yazidis Killed by the Islamic State" (PDF). Yazda.
  90. ^ . www.uniraq.org. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  91. ^ "Government of Iraq, UNITAD conclude first Sinjar mass grave exhumation in Kojo village - Iraq". ReliefWeb. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

Bibliography Edit

  • OHCHR; UNAMI (2014). "Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 4 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links Edit

  • Sinjar: Mass grave of Yazidi women executed by Isis discovered in Iraq independent.co.uk

36°19′00″N 41°51′00″E / 36.3167°N 41.8500°E / 36.3167; 41.8500

October 09, 2023
sinjar, massacre, kurdish, komkujiya, şengalê, marked, beginning, genocide, yazidis, isil, killing, abduction, thousands, yazidi, women, children, took, place, august, 2014, sinjar, city, sinjar, district, iraq, nineveh, governorate, perpetrated, islamic, stat. The Sinjar massacre Kurdish Komkujiya Sengale marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL the killing and abduction of thousands 14 15 22 of Yazidi men women and children It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq s Nineveh Governorate and 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 Sinjar massacrePart of the Iraqi Civil War 2014 2017 2014 Northern Iraq offensive and the American led intervention in Iraq 2014 present Mount SinjarDateAugust 2014 9 years ago 2014 08 LocationSinjar District Nineveh Governorate IraqResultISIL captured Sinjar 13 and executed thousands of Yazidis and abducted thousands of Yazidi women and children 14 15 YPG and PKK supported by US and British airstrikes evacuate the majority of the 50 000 Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar 9 13 AugustBelligerents Iraq Kurdistan Region Peshmerga Kurdistan Workers Party 1 2 3 4 5 People s Protection Units 1 2 3 6 Sinjar Resistance Units 7 Syriac Military Council 8 Supported by United States 9 United Kingdom 10 11 Australia 12 Islamic StateCommanders and leadersMassoud Barzani Kurdistan Region Murat Karayilan PKK Maj Gen Majid Abdul Salam Ashour 16 Iraqi Air Force Abu Bakr al Baghdadi Leader Abu Muhannad al Suwaydawi Head of Military Shura 17 al Hajj Abdullah 18 Deputy to al Baghdadi Abu Muslim al Turkmani Deputy Iraq Casualties and losses3 000 killed approximately 12 000 Yazidis were killed or abducted by IS per Yazda 19 20 5 000 killed per U N 14 2 100 to 4 400 killed and 4 200 to 10 800 abducted 2017 Plos Medical survey 15 500 000 displaced 21 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 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 Islamic State 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 the Kurds out of strategic areas and bring in Arabs who were obedient to ISIL 23 Contents 1 Background 2 ISIL takeover and siege 2 1 The offensive by night 2 2 Locals exodus 2 3 Sinjar mountains siege 3 Killings throughout the Sinjar area 3 1 Kocho massacre 3 2 Counts of casualties 4 Refugee crisis in the Sinjar Mountains 4 1 Iraqi US UK Australian food drops 4 2 U S air strikes 5 Sinjar rescue operations 5 1 Kurdish PKK and YPG clearing a path for Yazidis 5 2 Mountain siege ends U S rescue mission canceled 6 International responses 6 1 Western military response 6 2 International bodies 6 3 NGOs 7 Aftermath 7 1 Sinjar offensive 7 2 Return of Yazidi population 8 See also 9 References 9 1 Bibliography 10 External linksBackground EditMain article Northern Iraq offensive June 2014 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 the advancing ISIL troops local residents seized their abandoned weapons in case of an attack by the Islamic State 24 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 25 26 The Peshmerga confiscated the weapons the Iraqi Army had abandoned assuring residents that they would protect them 24 27 28 ISIL takeover and siege EditThe offensive by night Edit As ISIL attacked Sinjar and neighboring cities the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Sinjar withdrew leaving the civilians behind without warning 3 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 the area along with one additional Peshmerga brigade and PUK units Meanwhile most others including but not limited to HPE 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 29 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 3 On the morning of 3 August 2014 ISIL forces captured the city of Sinjar 13 as well as the Sinjar area 30 ISIL then detonated the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Sinjar executed resisters and demanded the residents to swear allegiance and to convert to Islam or be killed 13 Locals exodus Edit In the surrounding villages many residents fled immediately 30 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 the Sinjar area 30 Almost 200 000 civilians mostly Yazidis along with Shia managed to flee from the fighting in Sinjar city 13 31 Sinjar mountains siege Edit About 50 000 Yazidis fled into the Sinjar Mountains 31 where they were trapped without food water or medical care 32 and faced starvation and dehydration 31 The U S government Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Western media reported that thousands of Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains were under siege by ISIL 33 34 35 36 37 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 38 On 4 August Kurdish fighters reportedly battled ISIL to retake Sinjar 32 Killings throughout the Sinjar area EditOn 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 39 It was also reported that ISIL fighters executed ten caretakers of the Shia Sayeda Zeinab shrine in Sinjar before blowing it up 40 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 41 Hundreds of others had also been killed for refusing to convert to Islam 14 Kocho massacre Edit Further information Kocho Iraq Genocide in Kocho On 15 August 2014 in the Yazidi village of Kocho south of Sinjar over 80 men were killed after refusing to convert to Islam 42 43 A witness recounted that the villagers were first converted under duress 44 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 the same day up to 200 Yazidi men were reportedly executed for refusing conversion in a Tal Afar prison 41 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 45 Counts of casualties Edit A civilian reported that on 3 August 2014 alone 2 000 Yazidis had been killed throughout the Sinjar District 22 46 A Yazidi member of 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 32 From the findings of a joint October 2014 report of the OHCHR and UNAMI 47 ISIL had massacred up to 5000 Yazidi men during August 2014 14 Kurdistan Region estimated in December 2014 that the total number of killed or missing Yazidi men women and children from Sinjar since August amounted to around 4 000 23 A 2017 report by the PLOS Medical Journal estimated between 2 100 and 4 400 deaths and 4 200 to 10 800 abductions 15 Refugee crisis in the Sinjar Mountains EditIraqi US UK Australian food drops Edit See also American led intervention in Iraq 2014 present nbsp President Obama meeting with his national security advisors on 7 August 201440 000 or more Yazidis were trapped in the Sinjar Mountains and mostly surrounded by ISIL forces 48 who were firing on them 49 They were largely without food water or medical care 32 facing starvation and dehydration 31 On 5 August 2014 Iraqi military helicopters reportedly dropped some food and water for the Yazidis in the mountains 30 The US began their own supply drops on 7 August and the UK participated 3 days later 50 French aid was also promised 49 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 51 52 The general was killed in the crash 53 while most of the passengers including Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil were injured 16 On 13 August 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 54 U S air strikes Edit Main article American led intervention in Iraq 2014 present Obama s decision for airstrikes source source U S F A 18 fighters bomb ISIL artillery targets on 8 AugustOn 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 55 Obama further defended his decision by saying The world 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 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 56 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 the US launched four strikes against armored fighting vehicles of ISIL fighters threatening civilians on Mount Sinjar 57 58 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 59 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 33 Sinjar rescue operations EditKurdish PKK and YPG clearing a path for Yazidis Edit Between 9 60 and 11 August 2014 61 a safe corridor was established from the mountain enabling 10 000 people to evacuate on the first day 60 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 the uprooted Yazidis the PKK and YPG enabled an estimated 35 000 of the initially 50 000 trapped Yazidis to escape into Syria 61 According to the account of the Sinjar District Governor the route was jointly set up by Peshmerga and the YPG 60 Mountain siege ends U S rescue mission canceled Edit On 12 33 or 13 August 2014 a dozen U S Marines and special forces servicemen landed on Mount Sinjar from V 22 aircraft to assess options for a potential rescue of Yazidi refugees joining British SAS already in the area 10 62 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 33 The U S government officially declared the siege to be broken on 13 August 2014 This 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 1 3 allowing more than 50 000 refugees to escape 63 64 Despite this according to Professor Salim Hassan between 5 000 and 10 000 people still remained trapped in the mountains 61 They were reportedly afraid to return to their homes and were sustained in the coming months by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter 65 International responses Edit nbsp Demonstration in Paris against persecution of Kurds and Yazidis Western military response Edit See also American led intervention in Iraq 2014 present 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 the Islamic State was genocide 66 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 67 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 68 69 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 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 70 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 71 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 the siege 72 73 74 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 73 International bodies Edit nbsp 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 74 75 On 19 March 2015 a United Nations panel concluded that ISIL 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 76 nbsp Arab League On 11 August 2014 the Arab League accused ISIL of committing crimes against humanity by persecuting the Yazidis 77 78 NGOs Edit nbsp Defend International reaching out to Yazidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan December 2014This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it November 2015 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 79 DI president Widad Akrawi dedicated her 2014 International Pfeffer Peace Award to all victims of persecution particularly the Yazidis Christians and all residents of Kobane region 80 The British Stop the War Coalition opposed the intervention on Sinjar 81 Aftermath EditSinjar offensive Edit Main article December 2014 Sinjar offensive After August 2014 ISIL held the town of Sinjar 65 Several thousand 33 Yazidis remained in the Sinjar Mountains located to the city s north sustained by airdrops from a lone Iraqi helicopter 65 while an escape road from the mountains northward to Kurdish areas was under Kurdish Yazidi control 82 American officials said that some of those Yazidis considered the Sinjar Mountains a place of refuge and home and did not want to leave 33 while a report from The New Yorker said some were afraid to return to their homes 65 Other Yazidis also came to the mountains after the August evacuations 36 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 82 The mountains had once again been partially besieged by ISIL 83 On 17 December 2014 Peshmerga forces backed by 50 U S led coalition airstrikes on ISIL positions launched an offensive to liberate Sinjar 65 and to break the partial siege of the Sinjar Mountains 83 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 84 but quickly opened a land corridor that enabled Yazidis to be evacuated The operation left 100 ISIL fighters dead 65 Late on 21 December 2014 Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters south of the mountain range reached Peshmerga lines thus linking their two fronts 83 The next day 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 83 Return of Yazidi population Edit 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 85 In November 2017 a mass grave of about 70 people was uncovered citation needed and a month later in December another mass grave was discovered holding about 90 victims 86 According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq UNAMI and the UN Human Rights Office there are more than 200 mass graves sites across Iraq 87 The Documentation Project run by the NGO Yazda has provided photographic and witness testimony to document dozens of mass grave sites across the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar 88 89 In March 2019 the first mass grave site in Sinjar was exhumed by the Iraqi Mass Graves Directorate within the Martyr s Foundation and the Medical Legal Directorate under the Iraqi Ministry of Health in conjunction with UNITAD United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da esh ISIL 90 91 See also Edit nbsp Kurdistan portal nbsp Iraq portal nbsp Genocide portalDeir ez Zor offensive January 2016 Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL Kobani massacre List of events named massacres List of genocides by death toll Persecution of YazidisReferences Edit a b c Roussinos Aris 16 August 2014 Everywhere Around Is the Islamic State On the Road in Iraq with YPG Fighters Vice News Retrieved 2 September 2014 a b U S airstrikes helped but Kurds from Syria turned tide against Islamic State Retrieved 1 December 2014 a b c d e Shelton Tracey 29 August 2014 If it wasn t for the Kurdish fighters we would have died up there Global Post Retrieved 2 September 2014 Yazidi survivor recalls horror of evading ISIS death CNN Pamuk Humeyra 26 August 2014 Smugglers and Kurdish militants help Iraq s Yazidis flee to Turkey Reuters Retrieved 2 September 2014 Syrian Kurds provide Iraq s Peshmerga support against ISIS Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Middleeastmonitor com 4 August 2014 No Escape from Mount Sinjar Foreign Policy 4 November 2014 Retrieved 7 November 2014 Video YPG and MFS arrived in Shingal Mountains Sinjar to protect the refugees who fled from Shingal and other Towns News by Suroyo TV 4 8 2014 Western Dialect Source Suroyo T Frequency com Obama Authorizes Targeted Airstrikes Against ISIS in Iraq NBC News NBC News com 7 August 2014 a b US troops land on Iraq s Mt Sinjar to plan for Yazidi evacuation the guardian 13 August 2014 SAS sent in to Iraq as US troops land on Mount Sinjar The Daily Telegraph 13 August 2014 Australian Embassy Iraq Media Release Australian Prime Minister visits Baghdad Quote Australia has been active here in Iraq since August 2014 first with humanitarian food drops in Mt Sinjar and elsewhere second with delivering weapons to those who are fighting against the Daesh death cult a b c d Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam New York Times 3 August 2014 Retrieved 7 March 2015 a b c d e Spencer Richard 14 October 2014 Isil carried out massacres and mass sexual enslavement of Yazidis UN confirms Daily Telegraph Retrieved 27 October 2015 a b c d 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 a b Rubin Alissa J 16 August 2014 On a Helicopter Going Down Inside a Lethal Crash in Iraq The New York Times Military Skill and Terrorist Technique Fuel Success of ISIS New York Times 27 August 2014 Retrieved 21 October 2014 Paul Cruickshank 29 January 2020 UN report warns ISIS is reasserting under new leader believed to be behind Yazidi genocide CNN Retrieved 19 March 2020 Yazda Statement Commemorating the Fourth Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide Yazda The Yazidi Refugee Crisis PDF Yazda COI Note on the Situation of Yazidi IDPs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq PDF UNHCR a b Levs Josh 7 August 2014 Will anyone stop ISIS CNN Archived from the original on 7 August 2014 Retrieved 8 March 2015 a b Kurdish official ISIS Capture of Shingal was part of Arabization campaign Rudaw net 29 December 2014 Retrieved 4 August 2015 a b The betrayal of Shingal 7 August 2015 Obama says tackling Iraq s insurgency will take time Reuters 9 August 2014 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Jihadists kill dozens as Iraq fighting rages English alarabiya net 2 August 2014 Retrieved 15 March 2015 https www uscirf gov sites default files Kurdistan 20report 20Long pdf bare URL PDF https 50f3ad00 5b28 4016 898f 6130d301c97a filesusr com ugd 6ae567 98f8f8912baa40949a18a3a0b717eaea pdf bare URL PDF Hama Hawre Hasan 12 April 2019 What Explains the Abandonment of Yezidi People by the Kurdish Forces in 2014 Foreign Support or Internal Factors Ethnopolitics 20 4 428 449 doi 10 1080 17449057 2019 1601856 ISSN 1744 9057 S2CID 150425404 a b c d Salih Mohammed van Wilgenburg Wladimir 5 August 2014 Iraqi Yazidis If we move they will kill us Aljazeera Retrieved 12 April 2015 a b c d UN Security Council condemns attacks by Iraqi jihadists BBC News 7 August 2014 Archived from the original on 8 August 2014 Retrieved 7 March 2015 a b c d Smith Spark Laura 6 August 2014 Iraqi Yazidi lawmaker Hundreds of my people are being slaughtered CNN News Retrieved 16 February 2015 a b c d e f Militants Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over Pentagon Says The New York Times 13 August 2014 Retrieved 18 February 2015 Kurds break siege Mount Sinjar against Islamic State free Yazidis Deutsche Welle 19 December 2014 Retrieved 21 July 2015 Mount Sinjar Islamic State siege broken say Kurds BBC 19 December 2014 Retrieved 21 July 2015 a b Isis latest Kurdish forces break the siege of Mount Sinjar The Independent 19 December 2014 Retrieved 20 April 2015 Kurds Break the Siege of Mount Sinjar as Militants Flee War is Boring 22 December 2014 Retrieved 21 July 2015 Leader of Iraq s Yazidis Issues Distress Call Appeals for Help Against ISIS AINA 4 August 2014 Retrieved 8 April 2015 Jihadists Rout Kurds in North and Seize Strategic Iraqi Dam New York Times 7 August 2014 Retrieved 8 April 2015 ISIS enters Sinjar blow up Sayeda Zeinab shrine and execute 10 Shiite Kurds Shafaq news en Archived from the original on 30 July 2017 Retrieved 27 October 2015 a b OHCHR amp UNAMI 2014 p 14 Coren Anna Carter Chelsea J Report U S airstrikes carried out as part of Iraqi effort to retake Mosul Dam CNN Retrieved 16 August 2014 Zavadski Katie ISIS Just Killed 80 More Yazidis in an Iraqi Village New York Magazine Retrieved 16 August 2014 Blair David 6 June 2015 Isil s Yazidi mass conversion video fails to hide brutal duress London The Telegraph Retrieved 24 August 2014 OHCHR amp UNAMI 2014 p 15 George Packer A Friend Flees the Horror of ISIS The New Yorker 6 August 2014 Retrieved 8 April 2015 OHCHR amp UNAMI 2014 US carries out air drops to help Iraqis trapped on mountain by Isis The Guardian 8 August 2014 Archived from the original on 31 March 2015 Retrieved 11 April 2015 a b Cooper Helene Shear Michael D 13 August 2014 Militants Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over Pentagon Says New York Times Retrieved 28 October 2020 Obama Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq ABC News 7 August 2014 Retrieved 18 August 2014 RUBIN ALISSA J 19 August 2014 The most important ride of his life The New York Times via Strategic Study India Retrieved 14 November 2020 Gidman Jenn 12 August 2014 Helicopter Overloaded With Rescued Iraqis Crashes Newser Retrieved 14 November 2020 Colgrass Neal At Least I m Alive Inside a Deadly Iraq Copter Crash Newser LLC Retrieved 1 October 2014 JTF633 supports Herc mercy dash Press release Australian Department of Defence 22 August 2014 Retrieved 26 July 2015 Statement by the President whitehouse gov 7 August 2014 Retrieved 21 November 2014 via National Archives Kliff Sarah 7 August 2014 President Obama s full statement on the Iraq crisis Vox Retrieved 29 September 2015 U S Launches Four More Airstrikes Against ISIS in Iraq NBC News 9 August 2014 Retrieved 16 February 2015 Iraq Airstrikes From US Military Business Insider 9 August 2014 Retrieved 16 February 2015 Officials More U S advisers being sent to Iraq CNN 13 August 2014 Retrieved 24 April 2015 a b c 10 000 Yazidis rescued through safe corridor as ISIL fire on aid helicopters Hurriyet Daily News 9 August 2014 Retrieved 25 March 2015 a b c Shelton Tracey 29 August 2014 If it wasn t for the Kurdish fighters we would have died up there Global Post Retrieved 11 February 2015 US forces land on Mount Sinjar in Iraq The Irish times 13 August 2014 The Drama of Sinjar Escaping the Islamic State in Iraq Retrieved 12 February 2016 Cooper Helene Shear Michael D 13 August 2014 Militants Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over Pentagon Says The New York Times a b c d e f An Early Success for the Kurds in Sinjar The New Yorker 19 December 2014 Retrieved 24 March 2015 Noack Rick 8 August 2014 When Obama talks about Iraq his use of the word genocide is vital The Washington Post Retrieved 18 August 2014 J Carter Chelsea Tawfeeq Mohammed Starr Barbara 9 August 2014 Officials U S airstrikes pound ISIS militants firing at Iraq s Yazidis CNN Retrieved 6 June 2015 Thousands of Yazidis rescued Iraqi official says CNN 10 August 2014 Retrieved 6 June 2015 Siddique Haroon 10 August 2014 20 000 Iraqis besieged by Isis escape from mountain after US air strikes The Guardian Retrieved 6 June 2015 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 Retrieved 6 June 2015 Aug 13 Update on Humanitarian Assistance Operations Near Sinjar Iraq United States Central Command Retrieved 14 August 2014 DeYoung Karen Whitlock Craig 14 August 2014 Rescue mission for Yazidis on Iraq s Mount Sinjar appears unnecessary Pentagon says The Washington Post Retrieved 6 June 2015 a b Sly Liz Whitlock Craig 14 August 2014 Most Yazidis have been rescued from a besieged mountain in northern Iraq The Washington Post Retrieved 14 August 2014 a b UN declares highest level humanitarian emergency in Iraq as clashes erupt near Baghdad Fox News 14 August 2014 Retrieved 30 August 2014 UN Declares a Level 3 Emergency for Iraq to Ensure More Effective Humanitarian Response United Nations Iraq 14 August 2014 Retrieved 14 August 2014 Cumming Bruce Nick 19 March 2015 ISIS Suspected of Genocide Against Yazidis in Iraq U N Panel Says The New York Times The New York Times Retrieved 19 March 2015 Mid Day News 11 08 2014 التطورات في العراق YouTube 11 August 2014 Retrieved 18 August 2014 Addamah Steven 12 August 2014 MENA Arab league accuses ISIS of crimes against humanity Medafrica times Retrieved 6 June 2015 Save The Yazidis The World Has To Act Now Defend International 5 September 2014 Retrieved 18 November 2015 Linda Kelly 22 October 2014 Dr Widad Akrawi Receives the Pfeffer Peace Award Fellowship of Reconciliation Archived from the original on 19 October 2015 Retrieved 18 November 2015 Ditz Jason Beste Robin 14 August 2014 A tale of two sieges Iraq and Gaza Why the different response to humanitarian crisis Stop the War Coalition Archived from the original on 16 August 2014 a b Iraq Sinjar battle 21 Oct 2014 Agathocle de Syracuse 21 October 2014 Archived from the original on 26 February 2015 Retrieved 24 March 2015 a b c d Islamic State counterattacks refinery as fight for Iraq swings back and forth McClatchy DC 22 December 2014 Archived from the original on 17 November 2015 Retrieved 24 March 2015 ISIL land mines frustrate effort to get aid to freed Mount Sinjar Yazidis Aljazeera America 19 December 2014 Retrieved 17 February 2015 Jalabi Raya 10 December 2017 Yazidis caught in political football between Baghdad Iraqi Kurds Reuters Retrieved 22 December 2017 Two Yazidi Mass Graves Reportedly Uncovered in Iraq Al Bawaba 16 December 2017 Retrieved 22 December 2017 OHCHR ISIL s legacy of terror at least 200 mass graves in Iraq says UN report www ohchr org Retrieved 10 August 2019 Yazda Documentation Project 28 January 2016 Mass Graves of Yazidis Killed by the Islamic State Organization or Local Affiliates On or After August 3 2014 PDF Yazda Yazda Documentation Project 2018 Working Against the Clock Documenting Mass Graves of Yazidis Killed by the Islamic State PDF Yazda UNITAD working with Government of Iraq to commence exhumation of mass grave site at Kojo Sinjar Region www uniraq org Archived from the original on 13 December 2019 Retrieved 10 August 2019 Government of Iraq UNITAD conclude first Sinjar mass grave exhumation in Kojo village Iraq ReliefWeb 21 March 2019 Retrieved 10 August 2019 Bibliography Edit OHCHR UNAMI 2014 Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq 6 July 10 September 2014 PDF Retrieved 4 April 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint ref duplicates default link External links EditSinjar Mass grave of Yazidi women executed by Isis discovered in Iraq independent co uk 36 19 00 N 41 51 00 E 36 3167 N 41 8500 E 36 3167 41 8500 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sinjar massacre amp oldid 1178342210, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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