03:39Iraq: 'This changes our situation' - Yazidi refugees react as Bundestag recognises 2014 massacre
Displaced Yazidi people in Duhok’s Sharya refugee camp shared their views on Thursday after the German Bundestag voted to recognise the 2014 massacre of the Yazidi people by the Islamic State (IS).
"Certainly, this decision changes our situation, and we want Western countries like France and others to recognize this genocide, so that we can achieve safety and we can return to our regions safely, without fear and without genocide," a refugee said.
"We also hope that the Iraqi state will look at us with the same eye. We cannot return to our regions because they are afflicted. Our region has armed groups, including the (Kurdistan) worker Party and other groups," added a second.
The motion passed by the lower house of the German Bundestag stated that "the primary goal of the Islamic State was the complete elimination of the Yazidi community," adding, "More than 5,000 Yazidis were tortured and brutally killed by the Islamic State, especially in 2014."
The motion urges the German government to provide further funding to support Yazidi groups living in Iraq. It also calls for the establishment of a documentation centre to keep a historical record of the event.
More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed by ISIS nearly 10 years ago in northern Iraq, and about 200,000 people fled the area in fear of attacks.
03:39Displaced Yazidi people in Duhok’s Sharya refugee camp shared their views on Thursday after the German Bundestag voted to recognise the 2014 massacre of the Yazidi people by the Islamic State (IS).
"Certainly, this decision changes our situation, and we want Western countries like France and others to recognize this genocide, so that we can achieve safety and we can return to our regions safely, without fear and without genocide," a refugee said.
"We also hope that the Iraqi state will look at us with the same eye. We cannot return to our regions because they are afflicted. Our region has armed groups, including the (Kurdistan) worker Party and other groups," added a second.
The motion passed by the lower house of the German Bundestag stated that "the primary goal of the Islamic State was the complete elimination of the Yazidi community," adding, "More than 5,000 Yazidis were tortured and brutally killed by the Islamic State, especially in 2014."
The motion urges the German government to provide further funding to support Yazidi groups living in Iraq. It also calls for the establishment of a documentation centre to keep a historical record of the event.
More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed by ISIS nearly 10 years ago in northern Iraq, and about 200,000 people fled the area in fear of attacks.