Kurdistan President calls for justice and self-governance for Yazidis on genocide anniversary
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzaniexpressed "deep regret" that more than 5,000 Yazidi abductees remainunaccounted for, urging both the Kurdish and Iraqi governments to intensifyefforts to prosecute those responsible for atrocities against the Yazidicommunity.
Speaking at the tenth-anniversary commemoration of the Yazidi genocide,held in Erbil, President Barzani described the genocide as "one of themost heinous crimes in history." He said, "Today, ten years afterthat tragedy, the wound has not healed, and our Yazidi citizens still sufferfrom its consequences. This genocide stands alongside other severe crimes suchas chemical bombings, the Anfal campaign, burying victims alive, and widespreaddestruction—all crimes committed against the people and land ofKurdistan."
"More than 5,000 people were martyred, with hundreds of them killedby gunfire and buried in approximately 100 mass graves underground. Over 6,000Yazidis were abducted, including 417 girls, women, and children. They wereenslaved, sold, and bought in markets. Unfortunately, around 2,596 Yazidiabductees remain missing with their fate still unknown."
The President also renewed his call for the implementation of the SinjarAgreement. "Sinjar needs normalization through the implementation of itsspecific agreement," Barzani stated. "The Kurdistan RegionalGovernment and the federal government should agree on normalizing the situationin the region to ensure that the Yazidi community is not furthervictimized."
He stressed that the people of Sinjar should govern themselves withoutexternal interference, insisting that the PKK must leave the district tofacilitate this self-governance.
