Two Yazidi mass graves discovered in Sinjar
Iraqi authorities exhume a mass grave in Tikrit.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Two new mass graves containing the relics of members of the Yazidi ethno-religious minority have been discovered in Sinjar, Nineveh, raising the total to 29, according to municipal officials.
“Two new mass graves of Yazidi Kurds have been found in the village of Shababik, 30 km east of Sanjar, with each containing the relics of ten persons,” said Mahma ْXelil, Sanjar’s municipal official, in statements quoted by Rudaw agency. He added that most of the relics belonged to men.
“With those two graves, the total of mass graves discovered across Sinjar stands at 29,” Xelil said, urging to investigate if there were more to fund.
Thousands of Yazidi Kurds fled Sinjar to nearby mountain areas following its fall to Islamic State militants in August 2014. The extremist group massacred, enslaved and tortured thousands of that sect.
Data from the office on Yazidi kidnapping victims show that 2640 Yazidis were released from captivity by Islamic State militants over the past two years, but there are 3770 others still in the extremist group’s hold.
The Kurdish-speaking minority came to the spotlight when Islamic State militants, taking over large parts of Iraq, victimized its members, committing massacres and subjecting them to forced conversions, sexual slavery and other reported atrocities.