On Friday, the Emir of the Yazidis in Iraq and the world, Hazem Tahsin Bey, affirmed his categorical rejection of the attack on the “Al-Rahman Mosque” in Sinjar district, during demonstrations against the return of a number of displaced families.
He said in a statement: “We announce our categorical rejection of the attack on the Rahman Mosque and its burning in Sinjar, and attacking mosques is not from our morals, we Yazidis.”
Tahsin Bey added, “When ISIS invaded the city of Sinjar and attacked the Yazidis, Muslims opened the doors of mosques for us and did not fail to help.”
In turn, the Lalish Cultural and Social Center for the Yazidis considered the current events in Sinjar district as “the result of the wrong policy of the Iraqi government,” expressing its rejection of any form of violence.
The center said in a statement, on Friday, that “peaceful demonstration is a natural right, and assaulting the sanctities of religions is inappropriate behavior that cannot be accepted by any party.”
He pointed out that “disseminating messages far from the truth on social media leads to an end to social peace, and the responsible authorities must monitor and hold accountable those who publish such messages.”
“Everyone must assume his duties in a spirit of responsibility, and any aggravation of the situation will not be in the interest of any person or party other than the enemies,” according to the Lalish Center statement.
Spark events
Yesterday, Thursday, the Sinjar district of Nineveh Governorate, northern Iraq, witnessed massive protests in which hundreds of the city’s residents participated after a Yazidi survivor of ISIS identified a terrorist organization’s gunman, and informed the security forces about him, who arrested him immediately.
As a result, the demonstrators demanded that the Iraqi government take precise and deliberate steps in the process of returning the displaced Arabs to Sinjar, provided that “transitional justice be at the forefront of all steps.”
They also demanded the strengthening of security and stability, the consolidation of peaceful coexistence, justice for the victims of genocide and their families, and the trial of all terrorists and those involved in these crimes.
During the protests, a group of eyewitnesses told “Raise Your Voice” that they are from the “Irregular Yisha Forces” (Sinjar Protection Units affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) stormed the Rahman Mosque in the city center, and set fire around it in an attempt to burn it down, but eyewitnesses confirmed to “Raise Your Voice” “The security forces quickly contained the incident and put out the fire,” he said.
Commenting on what happened, the Yazidi activist, Amer Dakhil, wrote on his Facebook page: “The timing of the return of displaced Arab families to Sinjar with government support is ill-conceived before achieving justice against those involved who joined and cooperated with ISIS, and before supporting and providing a suitable environment for the return of Yazidis and victims from the camps.” “.
He added, “Problems and rifts may occur in the Şengali community, the consequences of which will affect us all, especially since there are several parties trying to destabilize the region, and this return will be a rich material for their malicious goals.”
Warning of “sedition”
In the same context, Muzahem Al-Hwit, a Sunni Arab sheikh in Sinjar and West Mosul, explains that “the decision to return the displaced Arab families was issued following an agreement between representatives of the components of Sinjar, the local government in Nineveh, and the security forces, provided that this does not include people and families whose hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis.” .
Al-Hwit confirms to “Raise Your Voice”: “During the process of returning more than 50 displaced Arab families to Sinjar, on Thursday, we were surprised by the attack of groups loyal to the PKK against these returning Arabs, and these groups impersonated the Yezidis, but later we confirmed that the Yezidis have nothing to do with them.” “.
“These groups were not content with attacking the returnees, but rather stormed the Al-Rahman Mosque in the center of Sinjar and set it on fire, which only caused minor damage. However, attacking places of worship is unacceptable for their sanctity by all religions,” Al-Huweit continues.
He warns that the events are “a spark that may create strife in Sinjar,” calling on the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, to “intervene to resolve the crisis in Sinjar and expel these armed groups from it, because they do not believe in coexistence and seek to ignite the fire of war.”
Although more than eight years have passed since the liberation of Iraqi lands from ISIS occupation, Sinjar has witnessed only the return of 20% of its Yazidi population, who were displaced following the genocide against them in 2014.
Sunni Arabs and Kurds from Sinjar also live as IDPs in Erbil and Mosul, waiting for conditions to be right for their return. Muslims who tried to return to Sinjar and were not allowed to do so staged a protest in front of the Nineveh Governorate building in Mosul.
Abu Muhammad, a displaced person from Sinjar to Mosul, said in an interview with “Raise Your Voice”: “We wanted a peaceful return with our Yazidi, Sunni and Shiite brothers. We were shocked by the burning of the mosque and the shooting at it.” He added, “We are only Muslims and we want a peaceful return.”
Conditional return
For his part, the director of the Yazidi Organization for Documentation, Hossam Abdullah, confirms that the anger and protests taking place in Sinjar is a result of “the absence of governmental and official mechanisms to inform the community of justice and procedures that contribute to mitigating the conflict and limiting any conflicts in the region.”
In his interview with “Raise Your Voice”, he indicates that the Sunni Endowment “started about a week ago to move in Sinjar to restore the Great Mosque in the city center. On Thursday, dozens of displaced Sunnis from Sinjar came, accompanied by the Sunni Endowment, the Iraqi army and the police, and opened the mosque and identified its assets. It was cleaned in order to complete the restoration and construction.”
Abdullah explains: “The Yazidis in and outside Sinjar are not against the return of the displaced Sunni Arabs, but this return must be conditional, and the conditions are clear. A detailed audit of the information of the returnees must be carried out, and the Sunni Muslims must do it themselves, in order to reveal who was with ISIS and who.” Their hands are stained with genocide and those who cooperated and contributed to its occurrence.”
At the same time, Abdullah called on the Arab clans to “hand over those involved and bring them to justice so that they will be tried in fair and transparent trials that the Yazidi and international public opinion will look into.”
A search on Google News about the term “Sinjar massacre” reveals numerous articles and reports about the horrific events that took place in Sinjar, Iraq, in August 2014. The Sinjar massacre was carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group, and it targeted the Yazidi minority group, who lived in the region. The attack resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, mostly men and boys, and the abduction of thousands of women and girls, who were subjected to sexual slavery and other forms of violence. The articles and reports on Google News cover various aspects of the massacre, including its historical background, the atrocities committed by the IS group, the rescue efforts, and the ongoing efforts to seek justice for the victims. The search results highlight the ongoing importance of remembering and learning from such tragedies, in order to prevent similar atrocities from occurring in the future.
He stresses the importance of this, because it “will reduce the violence and tension in Sinjar,” while his absence will do the opposite.
