Since the agreement on the future of Shengal (Sinjar), supported by the USA and Turkey and concluded between the KDP and the Iraqi government on October 9, 2020, the Yazidi settlement area in Southern Kurdistan is under high tension. The people in the region are angry about the fact that the KDP and Iraq, who abandoned the Yazidi people in the IS attack in 2014 and fled, now want to regain control of the area after the liberation by the HPG and the YPG/YPJ Defense Units from Rojava.

After the agreement, Turkish warplanes carried out an air attack on a village in Sinune sub-district of Shengal on 8 November. One person was killed in the attack and two others injured.

Responding to the agreement between the Hewlêr [Erbil] administration and Baghdad and the Turkish state's attack, the people of Shengal said, “We have suffered many massacres for centuries. We have nothing to lose now. We will fight to the last drop of our blood against the KDP, the Iraqi government and the Turkish state.”

"SHENGAL IS CONSTANTLY MADE THE SUBJECT OF BARGAIN"

Pîr Xwêdê Necide, stating that Shengal is given a gift to the Turks by the KDP, accused the KDP of "betrayal". Recalling that they had experienced similar incidents since ISIS entered Shengal in 2014, Necide said; “Comrades from the PKK came and saved us and women. Masoud Barzani says he will save the Yazidis from massacres, yet he is meeting with Erdoğan. The people of Shengal are now in great sorrow. What happened in Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Hewlêr is attributed to Shengal. Shengal is our homeland. Shengal is constantly being made the subject of bargain. They are pursuing a dirty politics.”

"BARZANI FAMILY HAS NOT BETRAYED ONLY ONCE"

Reminding that the betrayal in 2014 is being reintroduced recently, Necide said, “Masoud Barzani sold out the Yazidi people to Baghdad. Those who say that the Yazidi people cannot return to Shengal should know well that we will not remain silent on betrayal. No matter who stands before our existence in our own land, we will remain where we were born. The Barzani family did not do this to us for the first time. He abandoned Shengal about 10 times and did not protect us. I hope that Barzani who betrayed his people will never have his own state. Those who betray are always alone and doomed to perish.”

Drawing attention to the fact that Barzani betrayed the Kurdish people, Necide said, “Masoud Barzani is a traitor. He keeps fooling the Yazidi people. Barzani also contributed to the trap set for Shengal. Barzani sold us out while the PKK saved us. That's why I know who my friends and who my enemies are.”

“WE ARE NOT OWNED BY ANYONE”

Necîde Dexîl, one of the Shengal Kurds, paid attention to the fact that Shengal is once again targeted when it is very likely to govern itself.

Dexîl reacted to the dirty deal with these words: “We don't accept this. We are not owned by anyone. Let them stop selling us out. Jets are flying above us to make us pay allegiance to them. We will protect Shengal with our weapons until the last drop of our blood. I still hear the screams of women and children during the ISIS era.”

“WE WILL NOT BOW DOWN”

Dexîl continued; “We staged a torch march last night because we did not want the regime. Today jets are circling over Shengal. Whatever they do, we don't accept it. Whether they fly a plane on us day or night, we will not bow down. We will resist until the end.”

"HOW WE SURVIVED SO MANY MASSACRES"

Yazidî Pîr Şemo directed harsh words at the KDP, saying; "We are Yazidis. We do not want to fight another nation or our own people. No more fratricide. We have never asked for protection. The peshmerga themselves said to us ‘we will protect you against ISIS’. Then they left us alone in the massacre and ran away. They didn't even give us weapons to defend ourselves. Over the years, the Yazidis have recovered again and now they are selling us out to the Turks. We went through so many massacres, but we did not disappear. We will not be destroyed by this betrayal either.”

“WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF ZERDESTS AND EGIDS”

Emphasizing that the KDP, the Iraqi government and Turkey are behind the attacks, Şemo continued; "There is no fear of God in them. These countries which purportedly defend human rights are tolerant towards all kinds of punishment when it comes to us. The more we demand our own rights, the more we are attacked. We have nothing left to lose. We lost our house, our land, our children, our wives, that is, everything. What else could we ever be afraid of? We have hundreds of Zerdests and Egids. We only trust them. I call on the Yazidi people not to be tricked by others, not to allow fratricide. Let us unite as Kurds and fight against those who sell us out, let us protect our land."

"KDP DOES NOT REPRESENT US"

Remarking that the KDP held talks with the Iraqi government on behalf of the Yazidis but they did not see them as their representatives, Xelef Qasim said, “The Yazidis are not on any side. We are on the side of the truth. We no longer need anyone. We do not want the KDP and the Iraqi government to protect us. We will stand against any attack against us”.