EMÎRA ZOZAN

Shengal (Sinjar)- On August 3, 2014, ISIS attacked Shengal, killing thousands of Yazidis, abducting 7,000 Yazidi women. After the genocide, known as the “74th edict” by the Yazidi community, the fighters of the YPG, YPJ, HPG and YJA STAR liberated Shengal on November 13, 2015 with the support of the Yazidis. Then, the Yazidis re-established their system based on self-government and Yazidi women formed their own defense units.

 Yazidi women fought and defeated ISIS; however, the Turkish state has launched attacks on Shengal since 2017 after the defeat of ISIS. The ongoing Turkish attacks have been targeting the pioneering figures of the Yazidi community and killed many people. The last Turkish attack on the Yazidi community took place on May 16, 2023. Turkish drones attacked a house in the Khanasor (Xanesor) town of Shengal. While no casualties have been reported from the attack, the house and its surroundings have been severely damaged. The Yazidi women living in Shengal think that the Turkish state keeps attacking them to prevent the Yazidis from returning to Shengal.

NuJINHA spoke to several Yazidi women living in Shengal about the ongoing Turkish attacks on their city and community.

 ‘We will always resist’

Emîra Xelef, member the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (Kurdish: Tevgera Azadiya Jinên Êzîdî-TAJÊ), thinks the agreement signed by the Turkish state, KDP, and the Iraqi government on October 9, 2020, is the against the will and freedom of Yazidis. “The Turkish state carries out attacks with the KDP, the enemy of the Kurdish people. The Iraqi government signed this agreement against us. The Turkish state attacks us due to this agreement. We will not leave Shengal no matter what they do. As the women of Shengal, we will always resist. We do not bow to them,” she told us.

 ‘We will not leave our homeland to them’

Recalling that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Sabbar Al-Sudani had cancelled his visit to Shengal, Emîra Xelef said, “The Iraqi government sends its representatives to Shengal. We do not care what they talk about when they come here because we know that the Turkish state cannot attack the Iraqi territories without taking permission from the Iraqi government. We know very well that the enemy aims to take Shengal from us. Shengal is the homeland of us, the Yazidis. We will not leave our homeland to them. We have resisted until now and we will resist to the end. I call on all Yazidis taking shelter in camps to return to Shengal.”

 Call to resist

Another member of the TAJÊ, Wetha Reşo said, “The Iraqi government is directly responsible for the attacks on Shengal. It allows the Turkish state to attack us. The Turkish state attacks our assemblies, houses, children, mothers and elders. We condemn the ongoing Turkish attacks. I call on our people to resist the attacks of the enemy.”