Yazidi Genocide Anniversary: PUK Calls for Justice & Return of Displaced Persons

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The Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has issued a statement to mark the 11th anniversary of the genocide committed against the Yazidi community, urging continued support for the Yazidis and renewed efforts to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their places of origin.

The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organisation seized vast parts of northern and western Iraq in June 2014. Two months later, on 3 August 2014, the organisation launched a genocide against the Yazidi community in the Shingal (Sinjar) district, which is heart of the Yazidi land. They kidnapped 6,417 Yazidi women and children. Many people were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labour. In the space of a few weeks, more than 5,000 people were killed.

According to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis of the Kurdistan Region's Presidency, 2,590 Yazidis are still missing.

The PUK Politburo's message read:

“On the eleventh anniversary of the genocide perpetrated against our Yazidi brothers and sisters, and the brutal attacks and devastation wrought by ISIS terrorists on Shingal and its surrounding areas, we reaffirm our profound respect and gratitude for the martyrs of this horrific atrocity, and we remember them with deep sorrow and anguish.

The Yazidi people, as the native population of Shingal and its environs, have long stood at the forefront of the Kurdish national movement, playing a brave and vital role in its evolution. For this reason, they have historically suffered repeated assaults and genocidal campaigns (firman) at the hands of occupying forces.

In order to begin healing from this painful tragedy, it is imperative—now more than ever—that a unified and decisive approach be adopted by both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq. This must be accompanied by the active support of all Kurdish political parties to ensure the safe and dignified return of all displaced Yazidis to their homes.

In this regard, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reaffirms its full support for, and readiness to cooperate with, any initiative aimed at restoring stability to Shingal and securing official recognition of these atrocities as genocide at both the national and international levels.

Eternal glory to the martyrs of Sinjar and to all those who have given their lives in the struggle for freedom in Kurdistan.”

Political Bureau
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan



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