Ezidikhan PM denounces Barzani threat to occupy Shingal

The predominantly Ezidi town of Sinjar (Shingal) located on the Syrian border. (Photo: Andrea Dicenzo)

Ezidikhan Prime Minister Barjis Soso Kalaf has rejected statements made by neighboring Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani’s during a speech earlier this week . Barzani’s statements, says Prime Minister Barjis, amount to a threat to occupy and administer Shingal against the will of the Yezidi people. “The people of Shingal utterly rcondemn any attempt by Barzani to forcibly take political or physical control of Ezidikhan, its people or its resources. Barzani’s words and actions are in violation of international law and the Iraqi constitution. Ezidikhan joins Iraq’s leadership in working to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and integrity.”

Ezidikhan Governing Council Passes Genocide Investigative Body into Law

Bones, suspected to belong to members of Iraq's Yazidi community, are seen in a mass grave on the outskirts of the town of Sinjar, November 30, 2015.

The new investigative team will probe all crimes and identify suspects whether persons, groups or institutions that may have committed genocide including but not limited to Da’esh and its allies and crimes attributable to Iraqi governmental forces, at the federal or regional level (like Kurdish regional forces); militia such as the Popular Mobilization Forces; or international forces.

Emergency consultations between Ezidikhan and friendly nations

Yezidis protest return of Kurdish administrators to Shingal in October 2018.

The governments of Sweden, India and Iraq have invited the Provisional Government of Ezidikhan to consultations concerning the Governing Council Resolution of 15 November condemning Kurdish genocidal policies toward Yezidis. Prime Minister Barjis Soso Khalaf has vowed to meet with the Iraqi government to seek the Kurdish Regional Government’s immediate withdrawal.