SHINGAL, Iraq - Families of Yazidis who have been missing since the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked Shingal (Sinjar) in 2014 gathered in the district on Friday to call on the Iraqi government to pressure the new authorities in Syria to help find their loved ones.
The families collected signatures on a petition asking the Iraqi government, during the Arab League summit in Baghdad next week, to put pressure on Syria to find thousands of Yazidi women and children who were captured by ISIS and are still missing.
“We hope that the Iraqi government will hear our families' voices. The Syrian government says ISIS no longer exists. If ISIS is really gone, where are our 2,500 mothers, sisters, and brothers? We have evidence they are in Syria. We hope this year to know something about our people who have been kidnapped. If they are in graves in Iraq, let them find them for us. If they are in prison, let them take them out, and if they are in camps, we want them to rescue them,” Haji Hame, a participant of the gathering, told Rudaw.
When ISIS attacked Shingal, 24 members of Khifshe Sabre’s family were captured. Only 17 have been rescued. The fates of the remaining seven are unknown. The family believes they may be in Syria.
“Until now, no one has done anything for us. We do not know if those remaining are dead or alive. We hope the Iraqi government will bring back to us those who are alive and return to us the bones of those who died,” she said.
In June 2014, ISIS took control of large areas in northern and western Iraq. Two months later, in August, the group launched a genocidal assault on the Yazidi community in the Shingal district, abducting 6,417 Yazidi women and children. Many were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor.
As of now, 2,590 Yazidis remain missing, according to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.