The inhuman ISIS gangs abducted thousands of Yezidi girls and women after attacking Sinjar on 3 August as well as massacring many Yezidis. 5 Yezidi women, B.S, K.Ş, F.H, V.İ and N.D, whose ages range between 18 and 25, have reached the guerrillas on Mount Sinjar after succeeding in escaping from the gangs.

The young women, who witnessed many painful incidents, have told ANF what they went through at the hands of the gangs.

The young Yezidi women are still suffering the effects of what they went through. They said the ISIS gangs had sold the Yezidi women they abducted to Turkey and Syria after taking them to Mosul.

“They were trying to force us to become Muslims. They were killing those who refused”, said the women, adding that the children and the women were kept in a separate place, while the men were taken away to some other places. “They were selling the unmarried women in slave markets to Turkey and Syria. Besides, we were exposed to physical and sexual assaults by gang members every day”. The women said many young women were forced to marry, and that those who did not accept committed suicide.

“We witnessed all this. We were waiting for our turn to come” said the women, adding that what the gangs did amounted to psychological repression, forcing one woman to commit suicide.

The women said they survived three months under these repressive and painful conditions.

20 year-old B.S. said the gangs took her from her family by force and added: “Those inhuman gangs forcibly took me from my family during the times of the massacre in Sinjar. They first took me to Bahac and then to Mosul. They kept me in a dark prison in Mosul for 5 days. Then they took us back to Sinjar and put me in a house. They wanted to put us on sale in the slave market, but we did not accept that. They tried to force us to perform the ritual prayers of Islam. As I didn’t accept this I was subjected to physical violence by the gangs. They beat me many times with pieces of wood”.

25 year-old V.İ., said she was beaten many times by the gang members as she refused to repeat the words of Islam. “The gangs took me to Mosul and wanted to sell me in the slave market despite the fact that I was married. They first separated us from the men, then took the young women to another house. They wanted us to convert to Islam and when we refused, they beat us”, added V.I.

18 year-old K.Ş. said she was living together with her family in the Sibe Şex Xıdır village when the gangs came to Sinjar in August. “The gangs killed women, children and the elderly in our village, and abducted young women and girls”, said K.Ş and added: “They took me by force from my family and took me to Mosul.” She added that they were taken to the slave market in groups of 25-30 persons.

K.Ş said some young women who did not accept this had committed suicide and added: “I am still suffering the effects of what I went through. While I escaped from the gangs on 13 November, I still feel as if the gangs will come and take me to the slave market, and torture me”.