A woman kidnapped as a young girl at the age of 11 by ISIS terrorists and later held by Hamas for a decade has been rescued by Israeli forces in Gaza, officials said. The United States led a month-long operation to free the 21-year-old Yazidi woman.

Fawzia Amin Sido was freed earlier this week and was greeted by her emotional family as soon as she returned to her native Iraq.

“Fawzia, a Yazidi girl kidnapped by ISIS from Iraq and brought to Gaza at just 11 years old, has finally been rescued by the Israeli security forces,” tweeted David Saranga, the director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s foreign ministry.

“For years, she was held captive by a Palestinian Hamas-ISIS member. She has now been reunited with her family."

He added that "her story is a reminder of the brutality faced by Yazidi children, taken without a choice."

Notably, ISIS captured more than 6,000 Yazidis in 2014, with many of them being sold into sexual slavery and others trained as child soldiers.

Sido is said to be in good physical condition, although she is mentally traumatised after spending all these years in captivity, Iraqi officials said.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israeli-strikes-near-beirut-airport-reportedly-targeted-nasrallahs-successor-764339">Israeli strikes near Beirut airport reportedly targeted Nasrallah's successor</a>

Israel, Jordan and Iraq were also part of the operation, according to officials.

<h2>ISIS captured Yazidis 10 years back</h2>

Yazidi communities across Iraq faced terror attacks by Islamic State jihadists in 2014 and this is when Sido was taken as a young girl from her family. She was quickly sold off before being trafficked to Gaza, where she spent the next 10 years in captivity.

Reports suggest that the Iraqi officials were in touch with the woman for several months before the rescue efforts were conducted this week. She had also given her information to US officials.

Iraqi officials further informed that efforts to rescue her had been on for months. However, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza hampered the plans and they faced failure on several occasions over the past four months.

No details about the rescue operation have been revealed, although a State Department spokesperson said that Sido’s captor was recently killed, and this led her to seek repatriation.

Of the more than 6,000 Yazidis captured in 2014, 2,600 remain missing with most of them feared dead. Around 3,500 have been rescued or freed. 
&nbsp;

A woman kidnapped as a young girl at the age of 11 by ISIS terrorists and later held by Hamas for a decade has been rescued by Israeli forces in Gaza, officials said.

A woman kidnapped as a young girl at the age of 11 by ISIS terrorists and later held by Hamas for a decade has been rescued by Israeli forces in Gaza, officials said. The United States led a month-long operation to free the 21-year-old Yazidi woman. Fawzia Amin Sido was freed earlier this week and was greeted by her emotional family as soon as she returned to her native Iraq. “Fawzia, a Yazidi girl kidnapped by ISIS from Iraq and brought to Gaza at just 11 years old, has finally been rescued by the Israeli security forces,” tweeted David Saranga, the director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s foreign ministry. “For years, she was held captive by a Palestinian Hamas-ISIS member. She has now been reunited with her family." He added that "her story is a reminder of the brutality faced by Yazidi children, taken without a choice." Notably, ISIS captured more than 6,000 Yazidis in 2014, with many of them being sold into sexual slavery and others trained as child soldiers. Sido is said to be in good physical condition, although she is mentally traumatised after spending all these years in captivity, Iraqi officials said. Also Read: Israeli strikes near Beirut airport reportedly targeted Nasrallah's successor Israel, Jordan and Iraq were also part of the operation, according to officials. ISIS captured Yazidis 10 years back Yazidi communities across Iraq faced terror attacks by Islamic State jihadists in 2014 and this is when Sido was taken as a young girl from her family. She was quickly sold off before being trafficked to Gaza, where she spent the next 10 years in captivity. Reports suggest that the Iraqi officials were in touch with the woman for several months before the rescue efforts were conducted this week. She had also given her information to US officials. Iraqi officials further informed that efforts to rescue her had been on for months. However, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza hampered the plans and they faced failure on several occasions over the past four months. No details about the rescue operation have been revealed, although a State Department spokesperson said that Sido’s captor was recently killed, and this led her to seek repatriation. Of the more than 6,000 Yazidis captured in 2014, 2,600 remain missing with most of them feared dead. Around 3,500 have been rescued or freed.

Girl taken as ISIS slave at age 11, held captive for 10 years by Hamas, is rescued from Gaza

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife held Yazidi women captured by the Islamic State in her home, according to Iraqi authorities. Watch to know more.

Iraq: Baghdadi's wife gets death sentence for crimes against Yazidis

Thousands of Yazidis were kidnapped when the Islamic State took over Northern Iraq a decade ago. While, a significant number of them have returned many still remain missing. Watch the video to know more.

Islamic States' atrocities against Yazidis: Families await kidnapped relatives

Thousands of Yazidis were kidnapped when the Islamic State took over Northern Iraq a decade ago. While a significant number of them have returned, many still remain missing. Ghadi Francis brings you the full report on The West Asia Post only on WION.

Iraq's Yazidis recount horrors | The West Asia Post

A UN&nbsp;team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday. 
 
Karim Khan told the UN&nbsp;Security Council that the team, which started work in 2018, had also identified perpetrators "that clearly have responsibility for the crime of genocide against the Yazidi community." 
 
The Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Islamic State militants consider the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers. 
 
Khan, a British lawyer who will next month become the International Criminal Court prosecutor, said the intent of Islamic State "to destroy the Yazidi, physically and biologically, was manifest in the ultimatum that was repeated in so many different villages in Iraq - to convert or die." 
 
Islamic State overran the Yazidi heartland in northern Iraq in 2014, forcing young women into servitude as "wives" for fighters, massacring thousands of people and displacing most of the 550,000-strong community. In 2016 an independent UN&nbsp;commission of inquiry described it as genocide. 
 
Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney lobbied the Security Council, which then created the UN&nbsp;investigative team in 2017. 
 
They also pushed for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court or create a special court. 
 
"Evidence has been found, but we are still searching for the political will to prosecute," Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, told the Security Council on Monday. 
 
The UN&nbsp;team has so far identified 1,444 possible perpetrators of attacks against the Yazidis. 
 
Khan also said that from the team`s investigation into the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014 "it is clear that the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide occurred." 
 
The team has identified 20 people of interest and 875 victims remains from 11 mass graves from the Tikrit attack by the Sunni extremists against Shia Muslims.

A UN team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday.

A UN team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq has found "clear and convincing evidence that the crimes against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide," the head of the inquiry said on Monday. Karim Khan told the UN Security Council that the team, which started work in 2018, had also identified perpetrators "that clearly have responsibility for the crime of genocide against the Yazidi community." The Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions. Islamic State militants consider the Yazidis to be devil-worshippers. Khan, a British lawyer who will next month become the International Criminal Court prosecutor, said the intent of Islamic State "to destroy the Yazidi, physically and biologically, was manifest in the ultimatum that was repeated in so many different villages in Iraq - to convert or die." Islamic State overran the Yazidi heartland in northern Iraq in 2014, forcing young women into servitude as "wives" for fighters, massacring thousands of people and displacing most of the 550,000-strong community. In 2016 an independent UN commission of inquiry described it as genocide. Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney lobbied the Security Council, which then created the UN investigative team in 2017. They also pushed for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court or create a special court. "Evidence has been found, but we are still searching for the political will to prosecute," Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, told the Security Council on Monday. The UN team has so far identified 1,444 possible perpetrators of attacks against the Yazidis. Khan also said that from the team`s investigation into the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014 "it is clear that the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide occurred." The team has identified 20 people of interest and 875 victims remains from 11 mass graves from the Tikrit attack by the Sunni extremists against Shia Muslims.

UN investigator says he has evidence of genocide against Iraq's Yazidis

By Tutku Ayhan and Güneş Murat Tezcür

It’s been five years since the Islamic State killed 3,100 Yazidi people in Iraq – mostly men and the elderly – forced 6,800 women and children into sexual slavery, marriage or religious conversion and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing.

The Islamic State saw the Yazidis as infidels with no right to exist under the extremist group’s rule. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking Mideast minority whose monotheistic religion differs from Islam, Judaism and Christianity. They have a distinct historical lineage and no systematic requirement of fasting or prayer for the faithful. The Yazidis have lived in northern Iraq since at least the 12th century.

Today, more than 3,000 enslaved Yazidi women and children in Iraq have been freed from IS captivity, but life is far from normal.

Since 2017, we have interviewed over a hundred Yazidi survivors, both in Iraqi Kurdistan and in Germany, where several thousand Yazidis have sought asylum since the massacre. Our research documented long-lasting emotional, cultural and spiritual effects from the violence they experienced.

Cynicism and secularisation 
 
This once tight-knit religious community has been transformed by the Islamic State’s assault, albeit in different ways for different people.

Those who survived the August 2014 massacre – which the United Nations has declared a genocide – now live as displaced people in Iraqi Kurdistan or as refugees abroad.

For many Yazidis, religious practice has been replaced by a struggle to survive.

“I don’t care what will happen to the Yazidi identity in the future, or if all Yazidis live in foreign countries,” said Gule, a displaced Yazidi woman we met in a Yazidi village in Duhok, Iraq.

To protect the anonymity of our interviewees, who continue to be vulnerable and insecure, we refer to them by their first names only.

Gule, who once had a house in her village, now lives in a tent with her children and chronically ill husband. All she wants for Yazidis is “a house, an income.”

Being targeted for their religious identity has made Xidir, a young man in his late 20s, disillusioned with religion in general.

“When you look at what has happened, not only this genocide [but] all these wars, all this violence, you see it is because of religion,” Xidir told us.

Xidir lives in a camp for displaced Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan and struggles to provide for his family.

“I don’t believe in any religion anymore,” he told us. “I wish I could erase all religions from the Earth.”

Embracing Yazidi identity

Others have had the opposite experience.

The Yazidis have long led a precarious existence alongside their Muslim and Christian neighbours in Iraq. The Islamic State’s assault was a bitter reminder that they are a persecuted people, causing many to feel more strongly committed to their faith.

“Before I would say, I am a Yazidi, and that was it. But now it is different,” said Azad, who had escaped to Kurdistan with his family during the IS attacks. “When I say I am a Yazidi [now], I embrace it in a whole new way.”

Some of the Yazidis we spoke with expressed greater concern for Yazidi holy sites like the Lalish temple complex in Iraqi Kurdistan. They said they were determined to preserve Yazidi oral traditions, such as religious hymns known as “qawls,” and to pass their faith on to future generations.

But they are not necessarily strict practitioners of the Yazidi religion, praying daily or making pilgrimages to the Lalish. In fact, many Yazidis we interviewed in Germany – like other war refugees just struggling to survive in their new homes – had become more secular.

Their renewed interest in their Yazidi identity was primarily cultural and political. They advocate for their community on social media and see Yazidis as a separate ethnic group with a unique history – a people that should have autonomous political representation in Iraq, perhaps even self-rule.

Yazidi women find power and struggle

The status of women in Yazidi society has also changed since the massacre, our research found.

Despite some recent advances in women’s rights, the Yazidi culture remains deeply patriarchal. Women’s educational attainment, labor participation and political representation is very low. Many Yazidi women marry as young as 15 and become financially dependent on, and socially subordinate to, their husbands for the rest of their lives.

This social structure was upended by the Islamic State’s highly gendered attack, in which men were killed, while women and girls were kidnapped.

Some Iraqi Yazidi women actually gained real or symbolic power. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, for example, survived IS captivity to become an international activist.

We also met some Yazidi women working outside the home for the first time.

“I work with people from all backgrounds, I travel alone,” said Leila, a college graduate from Sinjar who works for an international Christian philanthropy.

“My family respects this, as I contribute to the family budget,” she said. “I feel confident and proud of myself.”

The lives of most Yazidi women, however, are more precarious than before.

Many lost not only their homes but also their husbands, fathers and brothers – the breadwinners. And while the Yazidi religious leadership welcomed women survivors back from IS captivity, the community strongly opposes integrating the children born of rape by IS members, forcing some mothers to make an impossible choice between their children and their people.

‘I am not afraid to tell my story’

When we met 31-year-old Nesreen in the summer of 2018, she was living in a Yazidi village in Duhok, Iraq. She told us her husband was killed by IS and that she and her two children had endured almost three years of enslavement.

No one in her family had received therapy. They all live together in a tent, dependent on a monthly allowance of 100,000 Iraqi dinars – around $84 – from the Kurdistan regional government.

With the help of her brother, Nesreen had written a manuscript telling the story of her captivity.

“I escaped the hell and I am not scared to tell my story,” she told us. But, she wondered, “How can we get a normal life after all this?

(Tutku Ayhan is PhD Candidate, University of Central Florida; Güneş Murat Tezcür is Jalal Talabani Chair and Professor of Political Science, University of Central Florida)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-years-after-islamic-state-massacre-an-iraqi-minority-is-transformed-by-trauma-126917">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Tutku Ayhan and Güneş Murat Tezcür It’s been five years since the Islamic State killed 3,100 Yazidi people in Iraq – mostly men and the elderly – forced 6,800 women and children into sexual slavery, marriage or religious conversion and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing.

By Tutku Ayhan and Güneş Murat Tezcür It’s been five years since the Islamic State killed 3,100 Yazidi people in Iraq – mostly men and the elderly – forced 6,800 women and children into sexual slavery, marriage or religious conversion and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing. The Islamic State saw the Yazidis as infidels with no right to exist under the extremist group’s rule. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking Mideast minority whose monotheistic religion differs from Islam, Judaism and Christianity. They have a distinct historical lineage and no systematic requirement of fasting or prayer for the faithful. The Yazidis have lived in northern Iraq since at least the 12th century. Today, more than 3,000 enslaved Yazidi women and children in Iraq have been freed from IS captivity, but life is far from normal. Since 2017, we have interviewed over a hundred Yazidi survivors, both in Iraqi Kurdistan and in Germany, where several thousand Yazidis have sought asylum since the massacre. Our research documented long-lasting emotional, cultural and spiritual effects from the violence they experienced. Cynicism and secularisation This once tight-knit religious community has been transformed by the Islamic State’s assault, albeit in different ways for different people. Those who survived the August 2014 massacre – which the United Nations has declared a genocide – now live as displaced people in Iraqi Kurdistan or as refugees abroad. For many Yazidis, religious practice has been replaced by a struggle to survive. “I don’t care what will happen to the Yazidi identity in the future, or if all Yazidis live in foreign countries,” said Gule, a displaced Yazidi woman we met in a Yazidi village in Duhok, Iraq. To protect the anonymity of our interviewees, who continue to be vulnerable and insecure, we refer to them by their first names only. Gule, who once had a house in her village, now lives in a tent with her children and chronically ill husband. All she wants for Yazidis is “a house, an income.” Being targeted for their religious identity has made Xidir, a young man in his late 20s, disillusioned with religion in general. “When you look at what has happened, not only this genocide [but] all these wars, all this violence, you see it is because of religion,” Xidir told us. Xidir lives in a camp for displaced Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan and struggles to provide for his family. “I don’t believe in any religion anymore,” he told us. “I wish I could erase all religions from the Earth.” Embracing Yazidi identity Others have had the opposite experience. The Yazidis have long led a precarious existence alongside their Muslim and Christian neighbours in Iraq. The Islamic State’s assault was a bitter reminder that they are a persecuted people, causing many to feel more strongly committed to their faith. “Before I would say, I am a Yazidi, and that was it. But now it is different,” said Azad, who had escaped to Kurdistan with his family during the IS attacks. “When I say I am a Yazidi [now], I embrace it in a whole new way.” Some of the Yazidis we spoke with expressed greater concern for Yazidi holy sites like the Lalish temple complex in Iraqi Kurdistan. They said they were determined to preserve Yazidi oral traditions, such as religious hymns known as “qawls,” and to pass their faith on to future generations. But they are not necessarily strict practitioners of the Yazidi religion, praying daily or making pilgrimages to the Lalish. In fact, many Yazidis we interviewed in Germany – like other war refugees just struggling to survive in their new homes – had become more secular. Their renewed interest in their Yazidi identity was primarily cultural and political. They advocate for their community on social media and see Yazidis as a separate ethnic group with a unique history – a people that should have autonomous political representation in Iraq, perhaps even self-rule. Yazidi women find power and struggle The status of women in Yazidi society has also changed since the massacre, our research found. Despite some recent advances in women’s rights, the Yazidi culture remains deeply patriarchal. Women’s educational attainment, labor participation and political representation is very low. Many Yazidi women marry as young as 15 and become financially dependent on, and socially subordinate to, their husbands for the rest of their lives. This social structure was upended by the Islamic State’s highly gendered attack, in which men were killed, while women and girls were kidnapped. Some Iraqi Yazidi women actually gained real or symbolic power. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, for example, survived IS captivity to become an international activist. We also met some Yazidi women working outside the home for the first time. “I work with people from all backgrounds, I travel alone,” said Leila, a college graduate from Sinjar who works for an international Christian philanthropy. “My family respects this, as I contribute to the family budget,” she said. “I feel confident and proud of myself.” The lives of most Yazidi women, however, are more precarious than before. Many lost not only their homes but also their husbands, fathers and brothers – the breadwinners. And while the Yazidi religious leadership welcomed women survivors back from IS captivity, the community strongly opposes integrating the children born of rape by IS members, forcing some mothers to make an impossible choice between their children and their people. ‘I am not afraid to tell my story’ When we met 31-year-old Nesreen in the summer of 2018, she was living in a Yazidi village in Duhok, Iraq. She told us her husband was killed by IS and that she and her two children had endured almost three years of enslavement. No one in her family had received therapy. They all live together in a tent, dependent on a monthly allowance of 100,000 Iraqi dinars – around $84 – from the Kurdistan regional government. With the help of her brother, Nesreen had written a manuscript telling the story of her captivity. “I escaped the hell and I am not scared to tell my story,” she told us. But, she wondered, “How can we get a normal life after all this? (Tutku Ayhan is PhD Candidate, University of Central Florida; Güneş Murat Tezcür is Jalal Talabani Chair and Professor of Political Science, University of Central Florida) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

5 years after Islamic State massacre, an Iraqi minority is transformed by trauma

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad makes an emotional appeal to US President Donald Trump about the suffering of Yazidis while attending an event at the White House: "It's not about ISIS, it's about I'm in danger, my people cannot go back". The president, who promises to "look into it very strongly", asks Murad how her Nobel Prize came about. The US President was hosting survivors of religious persecution at the Oval Office.

Nobel Prize winner Nadia Murad makes emotional appeal to President Trump

A Yazidi women's association said Wednesday it has sued two German ministers for failing to repatriate German citizens who had fought for the Islamic State group in Syria to stand trial at home.

The autonomous administration in the north and east Syria has offered to hand over some 61 German prisoners suspected of having fought for IS, the Germany-based Federation of the Yezidi Women's Council said in court documents seen by AFP.

Berlin's "failure to accept the offer and to make possible the urgently necessary prosecution constitutes the crime of obstruction of punishment," they allege.

Germany has repeatedly said it wants to bring its citizens home from Syria stand trial but has highlighted many obstacles.

"Legal cooperation is impossible since there are no state structures" in the relevant parts of Syria, a justice ministry spokesman told AFP.

"We haven't received the criminal complaint, so we can't comment."

He added there were 22 outstanding arrest warrants against German fighters held in Syria.

Germany has recently retrieved a suspect from Kurdish-controlled territory in Iraq.

The young man was suspected of the rape and murder of a teenager in the west German city Wiesbaden. He fled to northern Iraq last year but was quickly brought back by federal police after talks with the autonomous administration in Erbil.

The operation was controversial as Germany has no extradition treaty with Iraq.

In Syria, hundreds of foreign IS fighters are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of Arabic and Kurdish groups.

The Yazidi are a Kurdish-speaking minority in Iraq who fled in their thousands as IS advanced into the country from Syria in 2014.

At the jihadists' hands, thousands of women and teenagers were subjected to kidnapping, rape and other inhumane treatment such as being held as slaves, the UN has said.

A Yazidi women's association said Wednesday it has sued two German ministers for failing to repatriate German citizens who had fought for the Islamic State group in Syria to stand trial at home.

A Yazidi women's association said Wednesday it has sued two German ministers for failing to repatriate German citizens who had fought for the Islamic State group in Syria to stand trial at home. The autonomous administration in the north and east Syria has offered to hand over some 61 German prisoners suspected of having fought for IS, the Germany-based Federation of the Yezidi Women's Council said in court documents seen by AFP. Berlin's "failure to accept the offer and to make possible the urgently necessary prosecution constitutes the crime of obstruction of punishment," they allege. Germany has repeatedly said it wants to bring its citizens home from Syria stand trial but has highlighted many obstacles. "Legal cooperation is impossible since there are no state structures" in the relevant parts of Syria, a justice ministry spokesman told AFP. "We haven't received the criminal complaint, so we can't comment." He added there were 22 outstanding arrest warrants against German fighters held in Syria. Germany has recently retrieved a suspect from Kurdish-controlled territory in Iraq. The young man was suspected of the rape and murder of a teenager in the west German city Wiesbaden. He fled to northern Iraq last year but was quickly brought back by federal police after talks with the autonomous administration in Erbil. The operation was controversial as Germany has no extradition treaty with Iraq. In Syria, hundreds of foreign IS fighters are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of Arabic and Kurdish groups. The Yazidi are a Kurdish-speaking minority in Iraq who fled in their thousands as IS advanced into the country from Syria in 2014. At the jihadists' hands, thousands of women and teenagers were subjected to kidnapping, rape and other inhumane treatment such as being held as slaves, the UN has said.

Yazidis sue Germany for failing to repatriate Islamic State fighters for trial

Iraqi paramilitary forces have uncovered two more&nbsp;mass&nbsp;graves containing the bodies of 140 civilians, including women and children, in an area home to the Yazidi religious minority, they said Saturday.

In 2014, IS killed thousands of Yazidis in Sinjar and kidnapped thousands of women and girls from the community to abuse them as sex slaves.

The Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance said it had found &quot;a&nbsp;mass&nbsp;grave&nbsp;with the bodies of 20 women and about 40 children in the village of Kabusi, south of Sinjar.&quot;&nbsp;

Elsewhere, &quot;in the Jazira residential complex, also south of Sinjar, 80 other bodies, mostly Yazidis, were discovered,&quot; it said.

Kurdish fighters backed by the US-led coalition against IS captured Sinjar from the jihadists in November 2015 before Iraqi security forces took control of the region in October.

As government troops have advanced across Iraq they have uncovered dozens of&nbsp;mass&nbsp;graves holding hundreds of bodies in areas that fell under the jihadists&#39; brutal rule.

Iraqi officials said on 22 November they had found a&nbsp;mass&nbsp;grave&nbsp;in Sinjar containing the bodies of dozens of members of the minority killed by the Islamic State group.

Sinjar mayor Mahma Khalil said that since 2015, around 40&nbsp;mass&nbsp;graves have been discovered in the region and that &quot;all the victims were Yazidis&quot;.

The Yazidis are Kurdish-speaking but follow their own non-Muslim faith that earned them the hatred of the Sunni Muslim extremists of IS.

Yazidis believe in one God who created the world and entrusted it to seven Holy Beings, the most important of which is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel.

The Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance said it had found "a mass grave with the bodies of 20 women and about 40 children in the village of Kabusi, south of Sinjar"

Iraqi paramilitary forces have uncovered two more mass graves containing the bodies of 140 civilians, including women and children, in an area home to the Yazidi religious minority, they said Saturday. In 2014, IS killed thousands of Yazidis in Sinjar and kidnapped thousands of women and girls from the community to abuse them as sex slaves. The Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance said it had found "a mass grave with the bodies of 20 women and about 40 children in the village of Kabusi, south of Sinjar." Elsewhere, "in the Jazira residential complex, also south of Sinjar, 80 other bodies, mostly Yazidis, were discovered," it said. Kurdish fighters backed by the US-led coalition against IS captured Sinjar from the jihadists in November 2015 before Iraqi security forces took control of the region in October. As government troops have advanced across Iraq they have uncovered dozens of mass graves holding hundreds of bodies in areas that fell under the jihadists' brutal rule. Iraqi officials said on 22 November they had found a mass grave in Sinjar containing the bodies of dozens of members of the minority killed by the Islamic State group. Sinjar mayor Mahma Khalil said that since 2015, around 40 mass graves have been discovered in the region and that "all the victims were Yazidis". The Yazidis are Kurdish-speaking but follow their own non-Muslim faith that earned them the hatred of the Sunni Muslim extremists of IS. Yazidis believe in one God who created the world and entrusted it to seven Holy Beings, the most important of which is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel.

Two mass graves found in Yazidi district of Iraq

Islamic State jihadists are still committing genocide against the Yazidi minority in Iraq and Syria, United Nations rights investigators said today. 
 
&quot;Genocide has occurred and is ongoing,&quot; Paulo Pinheiro, head of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Syria said. 
 
&quot;ISIS has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man that it has captured to the most horrific of atrocities,&quot; he added, using another acronym for the jihadist group. 
 
The Yazidis are neither Muslims nor Arabs and follow a unique faith despised by IS. 
 
The Kurdish-speaking minority is mostly based around Sinjar mountain in northern Iraq. 
 
In 2014, IS jihadists massacred Yazidis in Sinjar, forcing tens of thousands of them to flee, and capturing thousands of girls and women as spoils of war. 
 
The UN warned last year that the group appeared to be committing genocide against the Yazidis, but the COI&#39;s report &quot;They came to destroy: ISIS Crimes against the Yazidis&quot;, published today, was more conclusive. 
 
Based partly on interviews with survivors, the report found that IS &quot;sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.&quot; 
 
The group was holding Yazidis in conditions &quot;that bring about a slow death,&quot; and was transferring Yazidi children from their families to live with IS fighters, &quot;cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community,&quot; the report said. 
 
It showed that men and boys over 12 were separated from their families, and those who refused to convert to Islam were killed, while thousands of women and girls, some as young as nine, were sold in slave markets. 
 
The report said some 3,200 Yazidi women and children were currently being held by IS, mainly in Syria, where the females were used as sex slaves and the young boys were being indoctrinated and trained as fighters. 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

A UN Commission of Inquiry report has said that girls were sold in slave markets, and men who refused to convert to Islam were killed

Islamic State jihadists are still committing genocide against the Yazidi minority in Iraq and Syria, United Nations rights investigators said today. "Genocide has occurred and is ongoing," Paulo Pinheiro, head of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Syria said. "ISIS has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man that it has captured to the most horrific of atrocities," he added, using another acronym for the jihadist group. The Yazidis are neither Muslims nor Arabs and follow a unique faith despised by IS. The Kurdish-speaking minority is mostly based around Sinjar mountain in northern Iraq. In 2014, IS jihadists massacred Yazidis in Sinjar, forcing tens of thousands of them to flee, and capturing thousands of girls and women as spoils of war. The UN warned last year that the group appeared to be committing genocide against the Yazidis, but the COI's report "They came to destroy: ISIS Crimes against the Yazidis", published today, was more conclusive. Based partly on interviews with survivors, the report found that IS "sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment." The group was holding Yazidis in conditions "that bring about a slow death," and was transferring Yazidi children from their families to live with IS fighters, "cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community," the report said. It showed that men and boys over 12 were separated from their families, and those who refused to convert to Islam were killed, while thousands of women and girls, some as young as nine, were sold in slave markets. The report said some 3,200 Yazidi women and children were currently being held by IS, mainly in Syria, where the females were used as sex slaves and the young boys were being indoctrinated and trained as fighters. (AFP)

Islamic State still committing genocide against Yazidis: UN

Islamic State still committing genocide against Yazidis in Syria, Iraq: UN

yazidis

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