NEWS CENTER - Stating that they fear the organization of Êzidîs, Şengal Autonomous Council Co-Chair Heso İbrahim said: "They want to create an atmosphere of fear in the society by targeting the pioneers" while PADÊ Co-chair Macîde Dexîl said: "They want to discourage the demand for Autonomous Shengal."

 

Shengal, where a great massacre took place with the invasion attacks of ISIS on August 3, 2014, is under the attacks of Turkey, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Iraqi Government after ISIS. After the Shengal Treaty, signed on October 9, 2020, in partnership with the KDP, Iraq and Turkey, attacks against Yazidis increased in Shengal, with dozens of attacks by warplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In the ongoing attacks with the cooperation of the KDP, Iraq and Turkey, dozens of people, including the leaders of the Yazidi community, were targeted and killed in the last two years alone.

 

Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) General Commander Zerdeşt Şengali, YBŞ fighters Şervan Cilo and Îzdin Şengalî lost their lives and one person was injured in Turkey's attack on Digur village in Sinun district with unmanned warplanes on January 15, 2020. On August 16, 2021, the vehicle of YBŞ commander Seid Hesen was targeted with a Turkish warplane in the old bazaar in the center of Shengal. In the attack, Seid Hesen and his YBŞ fighter nephew lost their lives and 3 people were injured. On December 7, 2021, the vehicle of Shengal Democratic Autonomous Administration Executive Council Co-chair Merwan Bedel was targeted with a drone belonging to Turkey. While Bedel lost his life, his two children in the vehicle were injured. On June 15, 2022, two airstrikes were carried out on the People's Council building and surrounding shops in Sinun district. In the attack, a 12-year-old boy named Selah Naso lost his life and 8 people were injured. Finally, on January 2, 2023, in the town of Tilezir, Kurdish intellectual Menal Mêrdîn was assassinated in cooperation with the MIT and KDP.

 

The KDP and the Iraqi army tried to enter Shengal many times, but they encountered resistance from the Yazidis. On May 2, the Iraqi army deployed a large number of helicopters and military forces in Shengal; however, it had to retreat in the face of the resistance of the Yazidi security forces and the YBŞ. Shengal Autonomous Council Co-Chair Heso İbrahim and Êzidî Democratic and Free Party (PADÊ) Co-Chair Macîde Dexîl made evaluations about the purpose of the attacks.

 

PIONEERS OF SOCIETY ARE TARGETED

 

Stating that Êzidî pioneers have been targeted since history, Heso İbrahim said: "Many of our pioneers and those who took responsibility in Shengal were targeted and murdered. Dozens of our pioneers, such as Mam Zeki, Zerdeşt, Dijwar, Merwan Bedel, Azad, Berxwedan and others, that we cannot count, were killed as a result of betrayal. These special war policies are not implemented for the first time. These policies against Yazidis continue from the Ottoman period to the present. Hundreds of pioneers and leaders of this society in the person of Derwêşê Evdi have been targeted and murdered. They are disturbed by the existence of the Yazidis and do not want them to live freely in their own lands. They want to defeat and break them because they are afraid of the organization and development of the Êzidîs. They want to target the leaders and create an atmosphere of fear in the society because they know that the Êzidîs will one day ask the KDP and the Turkish state to account for these massacres."

 

THEIR AIM IS TO EMPTY SHENGAL

 

Pointing out that the aim of the attacks was to evacuate Shengal and pacify the Yazidis, İbrahim said: "A special war was waged here with the ISIS mentality in 2014. At that time, they implemented the policy of war and fear very well. Especially after the 9 October Alliance, this situation was also shared by their press. As soon as Iraq entered Shengal, they created an atmosphere of fear and created an atmosphere of fear that would destroy the Yazidis. They resorted to these policies to frighten the Yazidi community and drive them out of their land. They want to leave Shengal without Êzidîs and leaders. They may have achieved some of their goals in 2014, but after the Êzidîs were organized, their plans failed and they could not achieve their goals."

 

ALL GOVERNMENTS ARE AFRAID OF INDEPENDENT SHENGAL

 

PADÊ Co-chair Macîde Dexîl also stated the following: “All governments wanted to subdue the Yazidis and bring them to their knees. This community has always been targeted. They did everything they could to subdue them, and they still do. They want to discourage the Yazidis from demanding an Autonomous Shengal by targeting the pioneers. They are doing everything they can in it but we Yazidis are hopeful. There are hundreds of people to fill the place of our murdered pioneers. They have been attacking Yazidis with all their might for years, but they can't get any results and they can't finish it. Our fight against these attacks will continue.”