In just a few days, Turkey has attacked the Shengal region twice. Two commanders of the YBŞ resistance units, Pîr Çeko and Agir Cefrî, were killed in a drone strike on Monday. Şêrzad Şemo Qasim from the security forces Asayîşa Êzdîxanê died on Wednesday – also as a result of an airstrike. Both the YBŞ and Asayîşa Êzdîxanê, were founded as a result of the genocide committed by the Islamic State against the Yazidi community of Shengal in 2014. Many are survivors of this genocide.

The two attacks are only the latest in a whole series of illegal attacks by Turkey against Shengal. However, as in other parts of Iraq and in the autonomously administered regions of Syria, the use of Turkish drones and warplanes in the core area of the Yazidis has been going on for years and is ignored by western international opinion and especially by close Turkish partner, Germany. The international community has at least a moral duty to take a stand against and prevent Turkish aggression.

State terror against survivors of a genocide

"As a NATO member, Turkey is waging a drone war against the Kurdish population and terrorizing survivors of a genocide," the Shengal Democratic Autonomous Council (MXDŞ) said in a statement. The most recent attacks were only the new escalation phase of an already ongoing campaign of extermination by the leadership in Ankara against Êzdîxan (land of the Yazidis), which the committee believes is a continuation of the genocide of 2014. "Pîr Çeko, Agir Cefrî and Şêrzad Şemo were three members of our security and self-defense forces who have been protecting the existence of our people, our faith and our homeland since the genocide. Turkey deliberately murdered them. The intention behind this is clear: The Turkish state wants to deprive the Yazidi people of their protective shields in order to complete the ISIS genocide.”

Silence is “unacceptable and inhuman”

The fact that Turkey's war crimes did not provoke any public outcry - neither in the central government of Iraq nor in the western world - is "unacceptable and inhuman", according to the MXDŞ. After all, these attacks are contrary to international law, it adds, “but Turkey is showing with its bombs on Shengal that it can act in Iraq at any time as it sees fit without fearing the consequences. We as MXDŞ had hoped that the new government elected in Baghdad in October would implement a paradigm shift and meet our desire for the Yazidi population's right to self-determination and self-government to be recognized within the Iraqi federal state. But the deafening silence in Baghdad leads us to conclude that we were wrong in our hopes of the new government.”

Attacks on Iraqi territory

In its attacks on Shengal, Turkey is cooperating with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the party in government in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. “However, the bombings are taking place on Iraqi territory, and Shengal is also within the area of action and responsibility of the Iraqi central government. Baghdad has an obligation to take action to prevent these crimes,” the MXDŞ stressed. 

Formalize Shengal's existing autonomy in Iraq

The so-called Shengal agreement, signed in October 2020 between Baghdad and the southern Kurdish leadership in Hewlêr (Erbil) under pressure from Turkey, is being rejected by Shengal’s autonomous administration, Yazidi civil society and large sections of the population. The central point of criticism is that the deal was made over the heads of the Yazidi community, without consulting the residents, and the real goal behind this agreement is in fact the division of control over the region between the KDP and thus Ankara and Baghdad. The MXDŞ, which has ruled Shengal since the ISIS genocide in August 2014 on the principle of self-government administration, and the security and defense forces YBŞ and Asayîşa Êzdîxanê are to be dismantled or disarmed according to the agreement. There were protests and resistance in various forms, which have so far made it impossible to enforce the agreement. The Yazidi people demand its right to self-determination and thus political and administrative co-determination be recognized and that Shengal's existing autonomy in Iraq be formalised.

The security situation in Iraq is changing

The MXDŞ said: “We also point out to Baghdad that Turkey's aggression not only threatens the existence of the community of Shengal, but also greatly changes the security situation in Iraq. With their attacks, Turkey and the KDP are provoking a large wave of displacement in order to further promote the depopulation of the region. Stability and security in Iraq are more important to us than any other party. The security and stability of Shengal and Baghdad are intertwined. The Turkish state and the KDP know that Shengal has been the safest place in the country since its victory over ISIS. We state unequivocally that the presence of our Autonomous Administration and Defense Forces enhances Iraq's unity and security. For this reason, the Iraqi government should treat any attack on Shengal as an attack on Baghdad and act accordingly." The MXDŞ called on the international community, and in particular to those states that recognized the 2014 massacre as a genocide, to take a stand against Turkey and to stand by the Yazidi people in solidarity.