Six years after Yazidi massacre, US urged to take ‘bolder action’

Speaking at an event hosted by advocacy group Yazda, Brownback said the Donald Trump administration had put forward an “aggressive plan” to rebuild the Yazidi ancestral homeland of Sinjar, citing nearly $300 million in financial aid pledged to vulnerable groups in Iraq since 2017.

But despite financial assistance from the United States and other governments, only a fraction of Sinjar’s original inhabitants have returned. The mountain town has been free of IS since 2015, and yet it is still littered with landmines and booby traps. Reliable electricity and safe drinking water are scant. Some 200,000 Yazidis are displaced, unable to return to what’s left of their homes — 70% of which the United Nations says was destroyed by the terrorist group.

The ever-present threat of Iran-backed militias, a resurgence of IS activity and recent Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish militant targets on Sinjar Mountain also have many former residents fearing a repeat of the August 2014 massacre should they leave the relative safety of the camps.

“Dangers face Yazidi families from every direction,” Free Yezidi Foundation wrote in a statement. “The international community may be hesitant to offer permanent military support in this area, but the coalition can and should take some symbolic actions in Ninevah province to demonstrate its support.”

Disputed areas between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, including Sinjar in Ninevah province, are especially vulnerable to militant attacks. Remnants of IS have exploited the security vacuum to carry out an increasing number of insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces in the past year.

The Yazidis also point the finger at Turkey, which regularly targets the Kurdistan Workers Party in northern Iraq. The Kurdish militants are viewed by Ankara as a threat to its national security and were on the receiving end of airstrikes in Sinjar this June. In addition, parts of northeast Syria that are home to a smaller population of Yazidis were overrun by Turkey’s allied rebel fighters in recent years, who rights groups have accused of carrying out rape, kidnappings and forced conversions of locals.

“Security is the No. 1 issue,” said activist Murad Ismael, recalling how the Yazidis were left defenseless when IS stormed their towns six summers ago. In the absence of meaningful military protection, Ismael called on the international community to provide training and logistical support to local forces.

“We will have to be holding the weapons when the next IS comes,” he said.