People of Shengal held a march today to protest the Turkish airstrikes on their homeland. They called on the Iraqi government and UN to set up a no-fly zone for Turkey over Shengal.

Shengal- On February 1, Turkish warplanes and drones attacked Shengal, Maxmur, and Dêrîk. The airstrikes started at 10 pm and continued until 1 am. Shengal was bombed for hours. In the attacks on 21 positions, three people were killed and one was injured. According to the local sources, these attacks have been the most comprehensive Turkish attacks on Shengal since 2017.

The people of Shengal held a march today to protest the Turkish airstrikes in their homeland. They called on the Iraqi government, UN, and the international community to set up a no-fly zone for Turkey over Shengal. Many Yazidis and Arabs participated in the march organized by the Shengal Democratic Autonomous Assembly (MXDŞ).

They made a statement in the attacked area

The people of Shengal came together in Xanesor and marched to the attacked area. “Long live the resistance of Shengal” they shouted and carried Kurdish and Arabic banners. Hüseyin Hacı made a speech in the attacked area on behalf of the Shengal Autonomous Administration. Xideyir Saleh also made a speech on behalf of the Arab Assembly of the Mediban Village and she condemned the attacks. “The Yazidi community has suffered more than anyone else. We call on the Iraqi government to stop the Turkish attacks and not to remain silent against attacks,” she said in her speech.

“We will not leave our homeland”

Niam Bedel, a member of the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (TAJÊ), also made a speech. Underlining that they will not leave their homeland no matter what it costs, she said, “We will never evacuate Shengal for the enemy and leave it to them. We will keep following in the footsteps of our martyrs. We will not leave Shengal to the enemy. We will not leave the lands where the blood of martyrs such as Merwa, Saed, and Zerdeşt was shed. Our will is much stronger than their threats and attacks. We will prevail if we unite and stand against them with our will. No attack can break the will of the people of Shengal, we have resisted the edicts for hundreds of years, we have existed, and now we will continue to stand against them with our will. We will never sell Shengal, we will also prevent those who want to sell Shengal.”

Zina Ehmed, one of the women who participated in the march, told us she had come from the Siba Şêx Xidir village of Shengal to participate in the march. “They cannot scare the Yazidi community with such attacks,” she said. The march ended after shouting slogans.