Seven Yezidi women and girls who managed to escape from the clutches of ISIS gangs and reach the district of Kerboran (Dargeçit) in Mardin province, have talked about what they experienced.

Besma Kasım Çulo (19), Semira Mirza Mahmud (15), Hakima Mahmud Celo (18), Elvin Mahmud Celo (20), Celila Şivan Amo (25), Emina Amo Meşo (30) and Mence Emin Meto (18) are being accommodated at the camp set up by the municipality in Kerboran. The women talked about the 3 months they had spent as prisoners of ISIS and the death threats and threats of rape they endured.

Celila Şivan Amo said: "When they raided our village they separated the men and the women. Then they separated the girls and the women. The unmarried ones were taken to the town of Rakka in Syria. They said to us: ‘your life is not good. Marry us and we’ll provide you with a new life.’ When we resisted them they beat us on the arms and on the head.”

Amo said that a woman who had married a member of ISIS was then passed on to other members. She added:  "They tortured us to force us to marry them, but we refused and put our heads on the ground and told them to kill us and that we would never marry them.”

Şilan Amo said that Yezidi children over the age of 6 were given religious education, adding: ''They forced 8 and 9 year-olds to get married. They made fun of our faith, and when we said we believed in Allah, they said that Muhammad was greater than Allah and that we were heathens.”

Amo said she has secretly called her relatives in Germany, but that no one had come to help them.  She added: "When the ISIS men went to fight one morning, we asked a passing vehicle for help. They took us to a nearby village and concealed us. We changed our clothes so as not to be recognised and used different vehicles.”

Amo said there were many captives in the hands of ISIS gangs, and called on everyone to be aware of this.