A group named “Kurds and their Friends in Sweden” began a petition campaign for the prosecution of officials responsible for failing defend Êzîdîs in Shengal against ISIS attacks, and demanded the end of the attacks targeting Êzîdî journalists and activists in South Kurdistan. Campaign organizers pointed out that Peshmergas had abandoned Êzîdî to be slaughtered by ISIS gangs on August 3 last year, and demanded that the Kurdistan Federal Government (KFG) improves the defense of Êzîdîs and sets aside internal contradictions. The group recalled KFG President Massoud Barzani’s statements that those who left Shengal defenseless would be punished, and emphasized that no prosecution or punishment has been made so far.

Campaign organizers noted that Êzîdîs in refugee camps across South Kurdistan lived in difficult conditions and demanded the immediate improvement of these camps. Criticizing the humiliating treatment of Êzîdîs due to their cultural and religious differences, the group condemned the increasing violence targeting Êzîdî journalists and activists in South Kurdistan and called upon the KFG to take necessary precautions.