ISIS survivors recount horrors of captivity, seek support

"I was 13 when I was captured by the ISIS, who brutalised me for almost a year, during which I was sold thrice to terrorists," a Yazidi rape survivor said, recounting the horrors of ISIS atrocities, during a press meet here on Tuesday. Director of the Office of Rescued Yazidis, Hussein Al Qaidi, along with a few rape survivors, held a press meet here in association with a local NGO, and recounted their ordeal at the hands of the ISIS in Sinjar, northern Iraq.

The rape survivor was captured by the ISIS on August 3, 2014, at the tender age of 13. "I was sexually abused repeatedly and sold thrice to ISIS terrorists. The one year that I spent in captivity has left many unforgettable scars on my life," she said. Representatives of Kurdish Regional government, including survivors of ISIS atrocities, appealed to the international community to help them evacuate Yazidis or Kurdish people from conflict zones and rehabilitate them.

Withdrawal of US forces from Sinjar is a"bad decision", which will eventually increase ISIS terror in the region, especially against the minority religious group like Yazidis, one of the representatives said. "Since ISIS invaded Sinjar in 2014, thousands of Yazidis have been forced to flee their homes. Hundredswere either buried alive, burnt alive or shot dead. While boys were conscripted into their rank and file and trained to become terrorists, women were raped and turned to sex slaves or married to ISIS terrorists," Al-Qaidi told reporters.

He said ever since the Trump administration refused to support Syrian Kurds, the crisis has worsened as scores of Daesh men have been set free. Kawyar Omar Ahmed, an official from Office of The Rescued Yazidis, appealed for support and solidarity from the international community, especially since the world has apparently turned their back to them.

"As many as 6,417 Yazidis have been kidnappedby ISIS, of which 3,515 have been rescued, while 2,902 are still in captivity," Ahmed said. "We are planning to present our case to the international community and NGOs world over to gain their support in rescuing and rehabilitating the traumatised Yazidi community," she added..

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