Sinjar's Struggle: A Decade After the Yazidi Genocide

This material focuses on the Yazidi genocide that began in August 2014 when Islamic State militants overran the Yazidi community in Sinjar, Iraq. This event led to systematic slaughter, enslavement, and rape of thousands, displacing this ancient religious minority. Many survivors remain in refugee camps, and Sinjar remains underdeveloped due to security issues and inadequate government support.

Fahad Qassim was a mere 11 years old when Islamic State militants overran his Yazidi community in northern Iraq's Sinjar region in August 2014, taking him captive.

The attack marked the beginning of a brutal genocide, involving the systematic slaughter, enslavement, and rape of thousands of Yazidis. This horrific event shocked the world and displaced the ancient religious minority. Thousands were killed in the initial assault, while many more perished in captivity. Survivors fled to Mount Sinjar, where they were trapped for weeks under siege.

A decade later, Sinjar remains largely destroyed. Fahad Qassim, now 21, lives in a refugee camp in Kurdistan, having been trained as a child soldier and severely injured. He, like many others, is reluctant to return to Sinjar, fearing a repeat of 2014. Despite government efforts to rebuild and resettle, security concerns and inadequate services hamper progress, leaving many Yazidis in prolonged displacement.