ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi government will provide families of Yezidis killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) with a 10 million dinar ($8,320) support grant upon their return to Shingal, a martyrs' support official has told state media.
Announcement of the grant came from Tariq al-Mandalawi, head of the government martyrs' foundation's Department of Victims of Terrorism and Military Operations, to the Iraqi state-run al-Sabaah newspaper on Sunday.
“The department will grant an amount of 10 million dinars to the families of the martyrs [Yezidis] after they complete their arrangements at government institutions for their return,” Mandalawi said.
The Yezidi ethnoreligious minority lived mainly in the Nineveh district of Shingal before it was attacked by ISIS in August 2014, in what has been recognised by many states as genocide. Many Yezidi men and elderly people were killed, and young women and girls sold into sexual slavery.
Mandalawi said his department has put the number of Yezidis killed or still missing since 2014 at over 7,000. According to figures released on Wednesday by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yezidis, 6,417 members of the ethnoreligious community were kidnapped by ISIS; 2,880 remain missing.
Much of Shingal still lies in ruins, five years its liberation. Several security forces and militias are vying for control of Shingal, further hindering the return of Yezidis to the area.
Governor of Nineveh Najm al-Jabouri told Iraqi state media outlet INA on Wednesday that "thousands of Yezidi families" have returned to Shingal so far, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and military officials have agreed in the last few days “to facilitate the return of displaced Yezidis,” most of whom live in camps or houses in Duhok province.
Return home of Yezidis was discussed in a meeting on Monday between Iraqi president Barham Salih and displacement and migration minister Ivan Fayaq.
The two officials reviewed work led by Fayaq to "encourage the displaced to return" and "rebuild the liberated areas," according to a statement from her ministry.
Salih "affirmed his support" for ending displacement and providing a "safe and stable life" for Yezidis and other displaced persons, the statement added.
Mandalawi said his department recently opened an office in the Nineveh province town of Sheikhan which will “compensate them [Yezidi families] as part of the process of returning families to their hometown,” he said.
The Iraqi government has also opened an office in Shingal to aid returnees, Yezidi non-profit organisation Yazda said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We value the efforts of the government for stabilizing Sinjar (Shingal), and we hope that the government will accelerate the process of returning IDPs to their homes, and compensate the survivors and victims of the genocide,” the organisation said in response to the opening.
French president Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed international support for the Yezidis during his visit to Baghdad last week.
“We will do our best to help you especially in Shingal, helping the Yezidis," Macron said during his joint press conference with Kadhimi.
