ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Yezidi children rescued from the last ISIS hold-outs in eastern Syria this weekend say they were trained by the jihadists to fire heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.
Abducted by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in 2014 when the group rampaged through Shingal, northern Iraq, the children say they also witnessed beheadings while held in captivity.
“Daesh came and they took us all away from our mothers,” Darwesh Jassim, one of the rescued Yezidi children, told Rudaw, using the Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.
He has not seen his mother or father since he was kidnapped four years ago, he says.
Darwesh Jassim, who was rescued from ISIS captivity by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), says he was trained to fire weapons while held in Raqqa. Photo: Rudaw video
ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yezidis in the summer of 2014. Thousands of Yezidi men and elderly people were executed by the group and buried in mass graves.
Many thousands of women and children were abducted to be sold into slavery.
Darwesh believes his father and uncle are still held by ISIS.
After his kidnap, Darwesh says he was taken to Raqqa in northern Syria – the de facto capital of the Islamic State’s so-called “caliphate”.
“We were trained there – weapons training and such,” said Darwesh.
He was 12 years old when the militants trained him to use Russian-made BKC machine guns and RPGs, he said.
“They didn’t take us to fight, but they trained us extensively,” he added, claiming the children were ordered to man ISIS checkpoints and carry out guard duties.
Many of the Yezidi children have been killed or remain in ISIS hands, he said, while others managed to escape. Darwesh says he made several attempts to flee during his captivity.
An SDF fighter carries a baby followed by the mother who cries and asks for help after leaving the last ISIS holdout of Baghouz in Syria's Deir ez-Zor, February 22, 2019. Photo: Bulent Kilic / AFP
As the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US-led coalition, make their final push into the last ISIS redoubt in Baghouz, thousands of civilians, ISIS wives, and Yezidi women and children have crossed their lines.
In the last 24 hours, 14 Yezidi boys between the ages of 5 and 15 have been rescued by the SDF, according to Kurdish officials.
Kenan Nouri, who was just five years old when he was abducted, said he was freed after his uncle negotiated his release.
He was first taken to Azaz, controlled by Turkish-backed Euphrates Shield forces, then to Kurdish-controlled Hasaka, before being brought safely to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Kenan has forgotten his Kurdish mother tongue and now only speaks Arabic. He says his captors used to beat him.
Both of Kenan’s parents were killed by ISIS. His sister, who was granted asylum in Australia, is the sole survivor of his immediate family. Kenan will now be raised by his uncle.
“Daesh killed my innocent parents. Thanks to God I returned to my uncle. I am very happy I am united with my family,” he said.
Kenan Nouri sits with his uncle and speaks to his sister via video call. Photo: Rudaw video
Hussein Qaedi, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s office for rescuing Yezidis, told Rudaw the children will require physical and mental rehabilitation after witnessing extreme violence and brutality.
“Undoubtedly, not only have they seen these, but they have also forced some of these children to execute people, to behead them,” Qaedi said, adding more than 1,600 Yezidi children are in urgent need of care.
His office has called on the United Nations to establish a specialist rehabilitation center for the children.
“It is unfortunate that no one has come to take care of this matter,” he said.
Several missing Yezidis are thought to remain in the Mosul area and in Syria’s Baghouz. Qaedi accused the Iraqi and Syrian governments of failing to act.
He called on security forces to issue warnings in Mosul to those still holding Yezidi captives to immediately hand them over to authorities or face punishment.
Of the 6,417 Yezidis kidnapped by ISIS, some 3,369 have been rescued.
Thousands more are thought to lie undiscovered in mass graves around Shingal and other liberated areas.