The Yazidis are dubbed as 'devil worshipers' by ISIS militants
Displaced Iraqis in the town of Kalak, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Islamic militants attacked the towns of Sinjar and Zunmar few days ago. The extremist group's capture of a string of towns and villages in the north has sent minority communities
Baghdad: Displaced Iraqis, many from the Yazidi minority, who have been stranded on a jihadist-hemmed mountain for a week will die en masse if not rescued urgently, a Yazidi MP said on Saturday.
"We have one or two days left to help these people. After that they will start dying en masse," Vian Dakhil told AFP.
"If we cannot give them hope now — the (Kurdish) peshmerga, the United Nations, the government, anybody — their morale will collapse completely and they will die," she warned.
In this Monday, Sept. 19, 2005 file photo, a Yazidi man sits on a cliff
above the terraces his village uses for farming on Mount Sinjar, 250
miles (404 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqis on Friday. (Photo: AP)
Thousands of Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority following an ancient faith rooted in Zoroastrianism, fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar.
Many of them have since been stranded in the nearby mountain range, with no food and water in searing temperatures.
The Yazidis, dubbed "devil worshippers" by IS militants because of their unorthodox blend of beliefs and practices, are a small and closed community, one of Iraq's most vulnerable minorities.
In this undated family photo, Mikey Hassan rides in the back of
a pickup truck with a boy in his arms as they flee militants of the
Islamic State group, who took over the city of Sinjar, Iraq. Hassan,
who is Yazidi, says he fled the city with more than a dozen family
members into the Sinjar mountains and then managed to escape
to the Kurdish province of Dohuk after two days by shooting their
way past the militants. (Photo: AP)
US President Barack Obama sent warplanes back over Iraq for the first time in three years this week in part to avert what he said was a possible impending genocide.
American cargo planes have been dropping supplies on the Sinjar mountain to help the displaced, who have survived by hiding in old cave dwellings, seeking out natural springs and hunting small animals.
Yazidi minority, who have been stranded on a jihadist-hemmed mountain for a week will die en masse if not rescued urgently, a Yazidi MP said on Saturday.
"We have one or two days left to help these people. After that they will start dying en masse," Vian Dakhil told AFP.
"If we cannot give them hope now — the (Kurdish) peshmerga, the United Nations, the government, anybody — their morale will collapse completely and they will die," she warned.
The Yazidis claim to have survived 72 attempts at eradication. Now, they face one more. http://t.co/68m1rNljRl pic.twitter.com/2K1cS6ng7z
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) August 8, 2014Thousands of Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority following an ancient faith rooted in Zoroastrianism, fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar.
Many of them have since been stranded in the nearby mountain range, with no food and water in searing temperatures.
The Yazidis, dubbed "devil worshippers" by IS militants because of their unorthodox blend of beliefs and practices, are a small and closed community, one of Iraq's most vulnerable minorities.
On a mountain top, waiting to be rescued from butchers.#Yazidis pic.twitter.com/F0o9MTdJFj
— Raza Rumi (@Razarumi) August 8, 2014US President Barack Obama sent warplanes back over Iraq for the first time in three years this week in part to avert what he said was a possible impending genocide.
American cargo planes have been dropping supplies on the Sinjar mountain to help the displaced, who have survived by hiding in old cave dwellings, seeking out natural springs and hunting small animals.
Watch Video: Iraqi Yazidi MP breaks down in Parliament
( Source : AFP )
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