Yesterday's airstrike on a hospital in Shengal killed eight people and injured four others. This was announced by the Shengal Democratic Autonomous Assembly (ku. Meclîsa Xweseriya Demokratîk a Shengalê, MXDŞ) in a statement published on Wednesday, which includes the following:

"As Yazidis, we have been mourning for weeks because the world powers and the enemies of Yazidism have made August a month of massacres. At the beginning of the month we commemorated the martyrs of the genocide of 2014, and on August 14 and 15 we commemorated the victims of the massacres of Til-Izêr, Sîba, Şêx Xidir, Girzerik and Kocho. August 15 is also the anniversary of Mam Zekî's death. We remembered him with deep respect for his commitment to Êzîdxan (Yazidi land).

However, the enemies of Yazidism are insatiable and continue their massacres. On August 16, a dastardly attack on Commander Seid Hesen, a valuable defender of Shengal, and YBŞ fighter Îsa Xwedêda took place in the old market in Shengal. This attack testifies to sinister machinations and traps. As is known, our friend Seid Hesen was one of our commanders and at the same time did very valuable work on the political and diplomatic level for a solution to the Shengal issue. He met with Iraqi government delegations several times and worked for the autonomy of Shengal. On August 16, he was preparing to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on behalf of the Shengal Autonomous Administration. At that very moment was he attacked and fell.

This attack took place in front of al-Kadhimi. The Iraqi prime minister was in Shengal, but neither he himself nor the Iraqi government have commented on the attack. Instead of responding to the Turkish occupation attacks, al-Kadhimi stated in front of the mass graves in Kocho that he wanted to improve relations with Turkey. At the same time, he put the October 9, 2020 agreement on the agenda and said that it should be implemented. This was the discourse that al-Kadhimi represented after the attack.

While mourning was still going on for Seid Hesen and Îsa Xwedêda, the Turkish state attacked Sikêniyê Hospital on Tuesday. We would like to state here that the attacks of the past two days are a new link in the chain of genocide in Shengal. These are not everyday attacks. We know exactly what the enemies of Yazidism are aiming at and what message they are supposed to send out.

The bombing of the hospital will go down in history as a crime against humanity. According to international law, attacks on hospitals are crimes that testify to unconscionability and lack of ethics. As the YBŞ also informed, the hospital was serving the Yazidi and Arab populations at the same time. Mothers, children, young men and women from Shengal were treated here. It was bombed not once but four times. People from the surrounding area risked death to retrieve the fallen and wounded from the rubble. The target of the attack were sick people, doctors, nursing staff and the YBŞ fighters who were responsible for the security of the hospital.

All this is a new genocidal attack against the Yazidis. The basis for this is the agreement of October 9, 2020 concluded between Iraq, KDP and the Turkish state. Our people have called this agreement an understanding of genocide from the very beginning and with vehement opposition have declared it invalid."

The Shengal Autonomous Assembly pointed out that on the anniversary of the August 3, 2014 genocide, KDP Chairman Masoud Barzani stated that the situation in Shengal must change. "On the same day, the U.S. representatives in Iraq, the Turkish embassy in Baghdad, the UN mission and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Kadhimi all together put the October 9 agreement on the agenda. With this we would like to say the following: right, the aggressor is the Turkish state aiming at occupation and genocide. However, we know that this attack was carried out with international and regional approval."

The Assembly declared that the implementation of the October 9 agreement would not be allowed at any price: "This is our last word. As long as the Iraqi government remains silent about the Turkish attacks, it is involved in them. Since the signing of the agreement, the Turkish state has carried out attacks every time Iraqi government officials have visited Shengal. So far, neither the Iraqi parliament nor political parties or religious representatives have commented on the recent attacks. This creates the image that they are involved.”

Asking the UN mission in Iraq, the Autonomous Assembly of Shengal said, "A massacre is taking place before your eyes. According to your conventions, it is a crime against humanity. You keep making statements about Shengal, so why are you silent about these attacks?"

The statement continued: "Shengal will not surrender but will resist and liberate itself. There have been casualties and injuries in these barbaric attacks. Since yesterday, we have been working to clarify the identity of the dead and wounded. Because of the bombing, this has taken a long time.

There are eight killed and four wounded in the attack on the Sikêniyê hospital. Four of the martyrs are YBŞ fighters who received medical treatment. Three others belong to the health personnel. Our fallen friend Muhlise Sidar is from Şirnak and came to Shengal when there was a call for mobilization on the anniversary of the 2014 genocide to heal the wounds of the Yazidi community. Since then, he has provided health services. The wounded are Hesen, Evdi, Semir and Macid from the health personnel."

According to the statement, the martyrs are YBŞ fighters Hemîd Sadun (Qîran Sîba) and Xidir Şeref (Pîr Xidir), Arab YBŞ fighters Rami al-Salim (Ronî) and Meytem Khidir Khalaf (Serhed Zemar), and Elî Reşo Xidir, Sedo Îlyas Reşo, Hecî Xidir and Muhlise Sîdar from the hospital staff.