A high-level delegation of Ezidis visited the Iraqi president with nine demands, including the return of the displaced, the fate of the kidnapped, and the release of five members of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBŞ) arrested in March.
The delegation met with Iraqi President Latif Rashid on Monday, May 5, and included a number of political, religious, and political figures.
"We had an important and productive meeting with the Iraqi president. The meeting focused on the situation in Shingal (Sinjar), and we presented all our demands," said Saeed Batosh, leader of the Yazidi Progress Party and a member of the delegation, to KirkukNow.
The demands included facilitating the return of all the displaced and determining the fate of the kidnapped Ezidis, especially as the new Syrian president is scheduled to visit Iraq.
In March, five supporters of the (YBŞ), a militant group affiliated with Kurdistan Workers' Party PKK, which fights Turkey since 1940s and holds territories in Iraq, were arrested in the district after clashes with the Iraqi army and other security forces, resulting in injuries to five security forces, three of whom were soldiers.
The delegation called for the release of the five detainees, who were transferred to Baghdad following their arrest.
On March 18, clashes erupted between the pro-PKK (YBS) and the army in central Shingal, resulting in the injury of five members of the Iraqi army and intelligence services. This led to the deployment of army forces and heavy weapons to the district center.
Less than a week later, the army withdrew its heavy weapons in exchange for Yabsha supporters removing the protest tents they had set up in front of the Iraqi intelligence headquarters.
The (YBŞ) were formed in 2015 and operate under the control of the Shingal Democratic Autonomous Administrative Council, which is described as close to the (PKK). Formed by locals to manage the war-torn region, neither the Iraqi federal nor the Kurdistan Regional Governments KRG recognized it.
Per the Shingal Agreement in October 2019 between the Iraqi government and the (KRG) to govern Shingal, all armed forces, including the Yabsha, must withdraw from the district center, and security responsibility must be handed over to the local police.
"We also requested amendments to the law on Ezidi survivors, including the excavation of all mass graves and increasing of reserved seats for religious and ethnic minorities," Batosh added.
So far, 55 mass graves have been exhumed in Shingal, with 37 more remaining. After opening the three graves, the total number of mass graves opened will reach 58.
Most of the graves contain the remains of victims from the Ezidi religious component. Statistics from the KRG indicate that over 2,000 Ezidis were killed by ISIS militants who invaded Shingal district in August 2014.
According to the statistics, over 80 mass graves have been found in Shingal, in addition to dozens of individual graves, dating back to the period of IS ruling.
The mayor of Shingal district has not yet taken office due to political conflicts. Since July 2024, the Nineveh provincial council has elected all the heads of administrative units in the province, including the mayor of Shingal district.
"Another part of our demands included the reconstruction and renovation of Christian churches, as well as a reduction in the salaries of Ezidi clerics serving in the shrines," Batosh said.
The Iraqi presidency stated in a release the importance of joint national efforts to provide services to Shingal and its people, monitor the situation of the displaced, investigate the fate of the kidnapped, compensate victims, and provide basic services.
Ezidism is an ancient Middle Eastern monotheistic ethnic religion that believes in one God who created the world and entrusted it to seven Holy Beings, known as Angels, with Melek Taus being the prominent leader with authority over the world.
Ezidis primarily speak Kurmanji, one of the two main Kurdish dialects. Some Ezidis view Ezidism as both a distinct religious and ethnic identity, separate from the Kurdish identity.
There are an estimated 550,000 Ezidis in Iraq. Many members of this community were displaced, with over 100,000 Ezidis immigrating from Iraq, according to statistics from the General Directorate of Ezidi Affairs by the (KRG).
Ezidis mainly reside in the Sheikhan District, north of Mosul, administratively part of Erbil Province, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region IKR), and the Shingal District (120 km west of Mosul, administratively part of Nineveh Province.
