German Lawmakers to Declare ISIS Islamist Murder of Yazidis in Iraq in 2014 a Genocide

The German parliamentarians have agreed to classify the brutal massacre of thousands of Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014 a genocide, the DW has reported.

Thousands of Yazidi people in Sinjar were massacred and enslaved while hundreds of thousands of people fled from their homes after Islamist outfit ISIS unleashed untold horror on the community.

Islamic State's Religious Fanaticism

A voting on the motion in German parliament Bundestag is expected next week, the outlet said, citing local publications. The motion is certain to be adopted as both the governing coalition of
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the opposition are backing the vote.

Yazidi genocide by Islamic State
Yazidi genocide by Islamic State Wikimedia Commons

By formally accepting the Yazidi massacre as genocide, it will become easier to attempt a judicial reappraisal as well as greater financial aid for the displaced Yazidis. The Yazidi persecution went down in history as one of the cruelest manifestations of the Islamic State's religious fanaticism. The ISIS sought the extermination of the Yazidis as they practise an ancient religion rooted in Zoroastrianism, which is seen as heresy by the ISIS.

Sinjar Mountains Overrun

In 2014, during the height of the Islamic State atrocities, the Yazidi communities in the Sinjar Mountains in northern Iraq were run over by the ISIS. As the Islamic State fighters took hold of the region, the Yazidis had to flee from their home land, which they had occupied for centuries.

Stories of rapes of Yazidi women, abduction of children as child bride brides for Islamic State fighters and murder of Yazidi men were staple news items during the horrible days of the insurgency.

Islamic State.
Islamic State. IANS

At least 5,000 people were killed and 7,000 were abducted by the Islamic State fighters who at that time controlled vast swathes of land in Syria and Iraq. "The German Bundestag bows to the victims of the crimes of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria," a draft of the motion said, according to DW. The outlet also reported that the motion will also have references to the persecution of Christians and other groups of Muslims by ISIS.

"By recognizing these Islamist crimes as genocide, we are giving the survivors a voice and supporting them in their fight for historical justice," said Derya Türk-Nachbaur, a Social Democrats lawmaker.

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