Öznur Değer 

 

NEWS CENTER - The Shengal Massacre, which was committed by ISIS on August 3, 2014, continues its effect despite the seven years that have passed. While there is still no news about the thousands of women and children abducted in the massacre, the fact that women are still sold in slave bazaars is almost a continuation of the massacre.

 

It has been seven years since the Shengal Massacre, which was one of the biggest massacres by ISIS, which created war, invasion and plunder in the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq, in 2012 by taking advantage of the chaos atmosphere after the Syrian Civil War began in 2011. Ezidis describe the Shengal Massacre, in which thousands of women and children were abducted and sold in slave bazaars, and hundreds of them were raped, as the 73rd Edict.

We have compiled the progresses since the beginning of the 3 August Shengal Massacre.

 

What happened before August 3?

 

After the Syrian civil war, ISIS, which poses a great threat to the peoples of the Middle East, began to carry out numerous attacks in dozens of cities in Northern and Eastern Syria and the Iraqi Federated Kurdistan Regional Government. The occupation of Mosul, one of the most important cities of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government, by ISIS in June 2014 also prepared the ground for the Shengal Massacre. Known for the efficiency of its oil resources, Mosul is also known to have a strategic importance. ISIS captured Nineveh on June 8. ISIS, which killed hundreds of people on June 10 and occupied Mosul, causing thousands of people to migrate, declared a caliphate in Mosul on June 29. After Mosul fell into the hands of ISIS, many people, including citizens living in Shengal, began to live with the threat of ISIS.

 

ISIS entered to Shengal

 

Having captured Mosul, ISIS targeted Shengal two months later on August 3, 2014. The massacre carried out by ISIS in Shengal started with attacks on Girzerik and Siba Şex Xidir villages located in the south of the mountain. ISIS, which captured Mosul two months ago, was also controlling the settlements around these villages. The first attack of the Shengal Massacre started at around 02:00 with mortars fired to Girzerik village. About half an hour later, the village of Siba Şex Xidir faced an ISIS attack.

 

First target was women

 

The first target in the ISIS attack on Shengal was women. Nearly 7,000 women and children were abducted, raped, sold in slave bazaars, and tortured. Forcing the Ezidis to become Muslim, ISIS also attacked, burning and destroying the worship centers of the Ezidis. ISIS was accelerating its attacks by targeting the Ezidis as a whole, especially their identity, belief and culture. As ISIS accelerated their attacks with every passing minute, the peshmerga, who were in charge of protecting the Shengalese, left Shengal and turned a blind eye to the Ezidi massacre.

 

Shengal Mountain

 

The Yazidis found the solution to the ISIS attack by taking shelter on Mount Shengal. Of the 400,000 people living in Shengal, 290,000 began to flee to the mountains as a result of the escalating attacks. While thousands of Ezidis lost their lives due to hunger, poverty and disease on the way to Shengal Mountain, the rest began to wait to be rescued.

 

Initial support came from YPG and YPJ

 

People’s Protection Unites (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) gave the first support to the people of Shengal, who responded to the attacks of ISIS in line with their own means. When YPG and YPJ members, consisting of a group of 12 people, entered the region on August 3, when the attack began, most women, who increased their defense forces, started to fight against ISIS together with hundreds of Ezidis, YPG and YPJ. The YPG and YPJ, which are fighting against ISIS in the region, started to announce the balance sheet of the conflict to the public on a regular basis. According to the preliminary data shared on 2-3 August, at least 56 ISIS members were killed in the clashes in the Rabia border region and Shengal. Four YPG members lost their lives. YPG and YPJ reached Shengal Mountain to help thousands of Ezidi citizens fleeing ISIS attacks.

 

‘Become a Muslim or leave’

 

After thousands of Ezidis had to leave the city in the face of intensifying clashes, ISIS entered Sinune village of Shengal without firing a bullet and imposed on the people of the village to ‘’become a Muslim or leave’’. Thousands of people who refused this imposition were forced to emigrate.

 

YBS was established

 

The YPG and YPJ, who took control by settling in the police stations left by the peshmerga who fled the city, taken out the Ezidis from the ISIS circle and enabled them to reach Northern and Eastern Syria safely. After this massacre, which aimed to wipe out the Ezidis from the stage of history, an Ezidi group of 400 people took up arms and fought against ISIS. Ezidis founded the Shengal Resistance Units (YBS) in 2014.

On the other hand, YBŞ maintains its military presence in Shengal and continues to protect the city from possible dangers and attacks.

 

Shengal was liberated

 

After the peshmerge left Shengal, the YPG and YPJ, who went to the region, prevented an even greater massacre and delivered aid to the people who were stuck in Shengal Mountain and were dying of hunger and thirst. After more than a year of war, Shengal was cleared of ISIS on November 13, 2015.

 

The effect of the Shengal Massacre on the world

 

The Shengal Massacre took the form of a massacre that shook the whole world, especially the Middle East. While the Kurds living in the region offered their aid and support to the thousands of Ezidis who had to migrate, the reactions of the world public to the massacre were insufficient. Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations (UN) representative in Iraq, commented that Shengal was captured by ISIS as ‘’a great humanitarian tragedy is on the way’’. “The United Nations has very serious concerns about the safety of civilians,” Nickolay said. The UN Secretary-General also issued a statement saying, ‘’I am horrified by the humanitarian crisis triggered by the activities of ISIS and its affiliated armed groups.’’

 

After the massacre…

 

The traces of the Shengal Massacre, defined as the 73rd Edict, continued in the past seven years. Ezidis were forced to migrate to many cities, especially Batman, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Şırnak. Some of the Ezidis, who settled in the camps established by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) municipalities of the time, started to return to Shengal after the massacre. 8000 Ezidi families rescued from ISIS have returned to Shengal. After Shengal was cleared of ISIS, dozens of mass graves belonging to the people who were murdered in the region were found. Despite the years that have passed, thousands of women and children abducted by ISIS are waiting to be rescued, while thousands of Ezidis continue to live in difficult conditions in the camps.

 

At least 2213 Ezidis were killed

 

At least 2213 Ezidis were massacred in the Shengal Massacre, while more than 390.000 Ezidis were displaced. 7000 Ezidis, mostly women, were abducted by ISIS. While 4000 of them were rescued, the women were sold in slave bazaars. The fate of 3000 women and children is still unknown. The bodies of Ezidis were found in 12 mass graves opened at regular intervals. A total of 68 religious places were looted in the massacre.

 

UN report

 

A report on Ezidis was published by the UN Human Rights Council on June 15, 2016. The report stated that ISIS committed a ‘genocide’ against Ezidis. In the report, which was prepared by interviewing those who managed to get rid of ISIS, the massacre of ISIS against the Ezidis was documented in detail. In the report, it was also noted that 400,000 Ezidis were killed, enslaved or subjected to other crimes and tried to be wiped out.

 

Ezidis and the 74th edict

 

Ezidis met with the massacre when Mosul Governor Hamadani massacred 1000 Ezidi families who did not accept Islam in 906. This was the beginning of the tragedy that the Ezidis would experience. Afterwards, Ezidis lived through 72 more edicts and faced massacres. With the last massacre committed by ISIS on August 3, 2014, Ezidis became one of the peoples that faced the most massacres in history, having lived through 74 edicts in 1115 years.

 

On the other hand, while women in Shengal have continued to organize and maintain their resistance since the massacre, the Shengal Agreement was signed between the Federal Kurdistan Region administration and the Iraqi government on October 9, 2020. Against the agreement, hundreds of people, especially women, started vigil act in Shengal.

Emphasizing that they will once again be the target of attacks with the related agreement, the women demanded that the administration in Shengal be handed over to the Shengalese. Reminding that more than a thousand Ezidi women are in the hands of ISIS, the women pointed out that this agreement will not protect them, on the contrary, their lives are in danger.

While Ezidi women state that they have not forgotten that day despite the years since the massacre, they continue to emphasize that they are determined to organize and continue their resistance.