The Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) Command issued a written statement on the 8th anniversary of the liberation of Shengal.

ISIS mercenaries launched genocidal attacks on Shengal on 3 August 2014, killing thousands of Yazidis during the occupation, and kidnapping thousands of women and children to reduce them into slaves. The fate of thousands of people is still unknown.

HPG-YJA Star guerrillas cleared Shengal from ISIS mercenaries on 13 November 2015, with the support of volunteer Yazidi youth and YBŞ-YJŞ.

The YBŞ said: "With the betrayal of the KDP, our people faced a genocide 8 years ago and resisted it. The heroism and efforts of the freedom guerrillas and YPG-YJŞ fighters put an end to that genocide. We will never forget this."

The statement continued: "These heroes, under the leadership of Mam Zeki, Egîd Civyan, Dilşêr Herekol, Nujînan, Çeko, Memo and Rosyar, Şoreş Xinizi, Seîd, Berxwedan, Zerdeşt, Şîlan, Nujiyan, Dijwar, Azad, and Dîdar, increased the struggle for the liberation of our sacred lands. We bow with respect to the memories of these heroes."

Stating that ISIS mercenaries were "trying to ensure that there was nothing left" of the Yazidi people, the YBŞ said: "Of course, it was not easy to fight against such a mentality. At that time, the struggle and the war for freedom were inevitable for us. Despite all the violence against our people in 2014, we organized with our leading fighters with a single philosophy and waged a fight for freedom. Together with the freedom guerrillas and YPG-YPJ fighters, we prevented the enemy from achieving its goals."

The statement added: "We continue to carry the legacy left to us by our heroes together with our people. If we were able to defeat the enemies of humanity in these lands, we could continue this struggle with a strong alliance against all attacks against us today. Our people should strengthen their faith on this basis, not forget those days and expand this struggle in the name of all our heroes and for the liberation of those still captives."

YBŞ pointed out that: "We will continue to resist all kinds of betrayal, attack and oppression, no matter the cost. In particular, the occupying Turkish state wants to occupy our lands once again to finish what ISIS didn’t. They want to carry out another massacre against us through treason. Through MIT and its collaborators, they are carrying out attacks using special warfare. However, this ancient society will resist occupation and genocide again, just as it did in 2014."

The statement concluded with the promise to expand the struggle: "We will follow the path of all the heroes who sacrificed themselves and crown the struggle with victory. On this basis, we salute our heroes, especially Leader Öcalan, our heroes' families, our people, YPG-YJŞ fighters and our Kurdistan freedom guerrillas who wrote a heroic epic against the occupation in the free mountains."