Hundreds of displaced families from the Ezidi (Yazidi) component have begun leaving the camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq KRI to Shingal (Shingal), home for the non-Mulim Ezidi community following speech of Ezidi commander which provoked the Muslims.
According to the follow-ups of the (KirkukNow) correspondent, since Thursday night until Friday, August 9, hundreds of displaced Ezidi families have left without prior warning and completing official procedures from the camps of Sharia, Jameshko, Khanke, Bajid Kandala, Bersev and Baadri within the borders of Dohuk Northern Province towards their hometowns, especially to Shingal District.
"Our family is the only one that remained in the alley where we live inside the camp, they all left since yesterday, 500 families left this camp towards Shingal, fearing the ongoing tension,” Khalaf Khidir, a resident of the Jammashko camp, told KirkukNow.
Jammashko camp was established 10 years ago and houses over 4,000 Ezidi families, according to statistics of the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG. There are more than 20 other camps in the KRI where thousands of displaced families live, 30% of whom are Ezidis.
Khidir says that despite the assurances of those in charge of the camp, “people are afraid and worried, so they return. The families who left took only their basic needs with them.” A KirkukNow correspondent spoke with a number of displaced people in several camps, all of whom confirmed the news of the Ezidis leaving the camps.
This comes after a wave of controversy and hate speech that has been raised on social media for days, reaching the level of threats between a number of followers of Islam and Ezidis, according to KirkukNow’s follow-ups, after that Qasim Shasho, the commander of the Yazidikhan Peshmarga Forces in Shingal, delivered a speech at the Sharafaddin shrine on the 10th anniversary of the attack of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Shingal and the Ezidis.
He said, “As long as Mohammed and his religion exist, attacks and massacres against Ezidis will continue,” sparking wide protests on social media platforms.
Following Shasho’s statements, several lawsuits were filed against him. On Thursday, August 8, the Nineveh Investigation Court issued an arrest warrant against Shasho on charges of insulting the Prophet and inciting inter-religious strife, based on Article 195 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
Article 195 states that "Anyone who aims to incite a civil war or sectarian fighting by arming citizens or by urging them to arm themselves against each other or by inciting fighting shall be punished with life imprisonment. The penalty shall be death if the perpetrator's aim is achieved."
The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement directed in a statement issued on Friday, August 9, the mobilization of the ministry's cadres and employees in various governorates and to head to Shingal district to receive and register the Ezidi families who recently left the Dohuk camps for the Internally Displaced people IDPs, without indicating the reason for their sudden return.
Every family wishing to return must complete the return procedures to obtain the financial grant of four million dinars and some household equipment provided to them by the Iraqi government.
Let the displaced rest assured that no one can harm them
"The situation is dangerous for the Ezidis, especially the displaced residing in the camps, who feel anxious for fear of being attacked by extremist groups and the situation getting out of control," according to a statement by the Ezidi community read out today, Friday, in front of the Sharaf al-Din shrine in the presence of hundreds.
In a statement about the gathering in front of the shrine in Shingal - which is being protected by the forces of Qasim Shasho - the Iraqi government, the regional government and the international community were held responsible for protecting the Ezidi citizens.
Pir Alo Kachal, director of Khanke camp, told (KirkukNow) that "a number of Ezidis residing in our camp went to participate in the gathering in front of the Sharaf al-Din shrine and did not leave forever", because according to Kachal, "there is no danger or pressure on the displaced".
"Let the displaced rest assured that no one can harm them", Bir Alo said.
The Ezidi community's statement said that the current situation was created by "an unintended word that was misinterpreted", while a campaign of hate speech "and encouragement to kill Ezidis" was launched, especially on social media, and the statement stressed "rejection and denunciation of any insult to all religions, sects and beliefs and respect for all sanctities".
The statement condemned the "hate speech and media campaign launched by extremists against the Ezidis," and welcomed the efforts aimed at calming the situation by the highest Shiite authorities, the Union of Religious Scholars, and any other party.
Ali Elias, the Baba Sheikh of the Ezidis in Iraq and the world, the highest religious rank among the Ezidi component, reassured Muslims that what Shasho said "was not intentional," and stressed that "the Ezidi religion respects the sanctities of other religions," this came in a press conference following his meeting with the KRG Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs and the Union of Islamic Religious Scholars, on Thursday, August 8, in Erbil.
The commander of the Peshmerga forces in Shingal, did not deny his statements in the framework of his speech after the complaint was filed against him, but told KirkukNow, “Some people, especially Kurds, have misrepresented my words. It was for an extremist group," he added.
"I am not talking about all Muslims. We have been dealing with Muslims for hundreds of years. How can I disrespect them?”
The Ezidi commander’s controversial speech was delivered on the tenth anniversary of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS attack on Shingal (120 km west of Mosul), which resulted in the kidnapping of 6,417 Ezidis, including women and children. 1,293 Ezidis were killed and 68 religious shrines destroyed. Up today, more than 80 mass graves of Ezidi victims have been found.
