More than two tons of explosives were used in the bloody explosions in Sinjar district recently. The attacks were aimed at intimidate Ezidis in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are in huge danger.
Result of DI campaign:
President of Kurdistan region in Iraq promised on August 28, 2007 to do his best to provide protection for Ezidis. A pro-term committee has been set up to follow up the case.
Campaign Status: Closed
Name: Several hundreds of thousands of civilians
Sex: Females & males
Authorities: Iraqi / Kurdish
Category: Concern about the civilian’s safety, health and condition
The case:
Four truck bombs were detonated on Tuesday 14 August 2007 in Kar Izir area, 35 km south of Sinjar, and at the Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound, killing and injuring more than 800 people. The exact number of the casualties is not clear yet. Many injured are in critical condition.
The Iraqi government security forces are in charge in that area. The Iraqi army said: “this was one of the worst incidents of its kind in the four-year-old war. The bombs have reduced dozens of houses to rubble.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq called the attacks an “abominable crime aimed at widening the sectarian and ethnic divide in Iraq.”
The bombings targeted the Ezidis, a vulnerable religious minority, members of a pre-Islamic Kurdish religion whose followers are generally situated in Kurdistan region.
More than two tons of explosives were used in the bloody explosions. The major motives behind the attacks are religious, ethnic, and racial; in addition there are possible hidden political motives as well. The attacks were aimed to intimidate Ezidis. Inhabitants from neighbouring villages had already threatening them, and over the past weeks the threats from extremist groups were also increased.
This incident gives rise to new risks and threat for Iraq’s Ethnic Minorities.
Facts:
- Some 350,000 Ezidis live in villages around Mosul, 405 km north of Baghdad.
- Sinjar district, 120 km to the northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by the Ezidis.
- Ezidis are ethnic Kurds, and most live near Mosul, with communities in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Russia.
- There are hundreds of thousand of Ezidis, estimates of their population size vary, partially due to some minority tradition of secrecy about their religious beliefs and number simply to get chance to survive.
DI Demands:
Defend International calls on Iraq’s president, Iraq’s Prime Minister, the president of Kurdistan region and the head of Kurdistan Regional government to provide protection for Ezidis, whose members continue to face terrorist threats and some of the most inhumane treatments.
DI campaign:
Please copy the following appeals to the authorities. Please add your signature and address and send them to arrive as soon as possible.
With thanks and appreciation
Defend International
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President Jalal Talabani
Baghdad, Iraq
E-mail: questions@iraqipresidency.net
Your Excellency,
Herby I am expressing my concern to learn that the Ezidis in Sinjar district have been attacked and the crimes against them are organized which means they are in huge danger.
There is no time anymore to postpone coordination between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional government to cover the security vacuum in the areas of Sinjar and Mosul.
The principle that civilians must be protected lies at the heart of the International Law of Armed Conflict. I urge you to do everything necessary to protect Ezidis.
I hope for your urgent attention to this matter!
Respectfully yours,
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Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki
Baghdad, Iraq
E-mail: iraqigov@yahoo.com
Your Excellency,
Herby I am expressing my concern to learn that the Ezidis in Sinjar district have been attacked and the crimes against them are organized which means they are in huge danger.
There is no time anymore to postpone coordination between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional government to cover the security vacuum in the areas of Sinjar and Mosul.
The principle that civilians must be protected lies at the heart of the International Law of Armed Conflict. I urge you to do everything necessary to protect Ezidis.
I hope for your urgent attention to this matter!
Respectfully yours,
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President Masud Barzani
Kurdish regional Government offices
The Kurdistan Regional Government in Arbil, Iraq
Fax: +1 651 846 6051
Email: erbil@rp.krg.org
Your Excellency,
Herby I am expressing my concern to learn that the Ezidis in Sinjar district have been attacked and the crimes against them are organized which means they are in huge danger.
There is no time anymore to postpone coordination between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional government to cover the security vacuum in the areas of Sinjar and Mosul.
The principle that civilians must be protected lies at the heart of the International Law of Armed Conflict. I urge you to do everything necessary to protect Ezidis.
I hope for your urgent attention to this matter!
Respectfully yours,
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Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
Kurdish regional Government offices
The Kurdistan Regional Government in Arbil, Iraq
Link:
http://www.krg.org/contact.asp?lngnr=12&smap=01000000
Choose: Department of Foreign relations
Your Excellency,
Herby I am expressing my concern to learn that the Ezidis in Sinjar district have been attacked and the crimes against them are organized which means they are in huge danger.
There is no time anymore to postpone coordination between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional government to cover the security vacuum in the areas of Sinjar and Mosul.
The principle that civilians must be protected lies at the heart of the International Law of Armed Conflict. I urge you to do everything necessary to protect Ezidis.
I hope for your urgent attention to this matter.
Respectfully yours,
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Acknowledgment:
Photos: Artworks by DI member Mr. Kane Alan.