Shafaq News / Ammar al-Hakim, the head of the National Wisdom Movement, stated on Tuesday at the commemoration of the Yazidi genocide's ninth anniversary in Baghdad that ISIS had executed all captive Turkmen Shia women after kidnapping them during their invasion of Nineveh's predominantly Turkmen regions in 2014.
Attacking Yazidis, according to al-Hakim, is an attack on all Iraqis because the enemy also targeted peaceful coexistence and the country's diversity.
"The targeting of Turkmen Shia female captives may have been even more severe than the targeting of Yazidi captives," he continued, "given there was not a single surviving Turkmen Shia woman."
Al-Hakim added that "Yazidi survivors had described what had occurred to Turkmen-Shia women, who had no alternative but to perish. Even if they had attempted to withstand their captivity, they would be burned after turning 35, so they had no chance of surviving."
The leader of the Wisdom Movement also made the point that "although ISIS is to blame for what happened to the Yazidis, they are not alone because everyone who promoted extremism and hatred, as well as those who contributed to the extremist rhetoric and used sectarian and religious differences for political ends, are also complicit in these crimes and the tragedies that befell them."
He explained that political factors are keeping the Yazidis who have been internally displaced from returning to their homeland.
He also urged the Yazidis to hold onto their land rather than migrate in order to best respond to ISIS's atrocities.
Furthermore, al-Hakim demanded that the Sinjar Agreement reached between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government, be put into effect.
It is noteworthy that In 2014, ISIS launched a brutal campaign of violence and persecution against various religious and ethnic groups in the regions it controlled. One of the targeted groups was the Turkmen Shia community, an ethnic minority in Iraq.
During their invasion of predominantly Turkmen areas, particularly in Nineveh, ISIS specifically targeted and kidnapped Turkmen Shia women. These women were taken captive and subjected to horrific conditions, including physical and psychological abuse, forced marriages, and sexual slavery.
ISIS militants viewed religious and ethnic minorities, including Turkmen Shia, as enemies and sought to impose their extremist ideology on the regions they conquered. The abduction and mistreatment of Turkmen women were part of their broader campaign to terrorize and subjugate communities that did not conform to their radical beliefs.
The plight of the Turkmen Shia women, along with the atrocities committed against other minority groups, drew international outrage and condemnation. Efforts were made by Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and other groups to liberate areas from ISIS control and rescue those held captive. However, the situation was complex and challenging due to ISIS’s ruthless tactics.
The targeting and kidnapping of Turkmen Shia women by ISIS further highlighted its serious threat to human rights, religious freedom, and the principles of tolerance and coexistence. It underscored the urgent need for international action to combat the terrorist organization and protect vulnerable populations from its violence and oppression.