Sinjar, Islamic State militia massacre Yazidis and impose tax on Christians
Baghdad (AsiaNews) - Dozens of Christian families have fled from the town
of Sinjar, recently conquered by the militias of the Islamic State (formerly
ISIS, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Local witnesses report that the
situation is dramatic, people have found shelter in a mountainous area, but
"are homeless, desperate and begging for help".
Meanwhile, the Islamists continue the offensive in northern Iraq. Yesterday
evening they bombarded the village of Telkef, about 20 miles north of Mosul. During
the attack a Christian named Lujaim Hikmat Franci was killed. The church security was hit as he tried to take
shelter together with other young people and the priest.
ISIS leaders have proclaimed all out war in the region and their intent to
arrive in Lebanon. Internal sources speak of suicide bombers ready to blow
themselves up in different areas of the country of the cedars, so far spared by
Islamist violence. Beirut is also home to the Shiite movement Hezbollah, the
most important enemy of the Sunni fighters in Syria.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani has ordered the Peshmerga forces to
inflict a "fatal blow" on the ISIS militias, who have conquered large
parts of the country. The President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirms
the paramilitary offensive, called to fight "against the enemies of the
Kurdish people." At the same time, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
has ordered air support for the Kurdish army, engaged in the offensive to
recapture two major cities and many oil plants.
On the ground, the news spilling out from Sinjar (126 km north-west of Mosul)
is dramatic; the city is inhabited mostly by Yazidis, Muslim, and a Christian
minority formed by Syrian-Orthodox, Catholics and Armenians. There was only one
priest in the area, a Syrian Orthodox, who cared for the whole Christian
community. According to local sources, in the August 3 attack, ISIS militias have
killed at least 70 Yazidis and seized some women; Some witnesses reported that the
bodies of the victims were abandoned on the street and "no one dares to touch
them."
The majority of the population, including Christians, have fled to the
mountains or have sought refuge in neighboring Christian villages of Dayraboun and
Vichabour. The Islamists have also imposed the jiza, the fee for the
"infidels" on the remaining Christians - those few who wished to
remain, to save their homes - which amounts to about $ 80 per person. Finally, local
Catholic sources report that the Sunni militiamen have removed the cross from
the church destroyed the building burning books and parish registers; now the
place of worship has been turned into an office.
In a matter of hours over the weekend the Islamic
State militias took possession of
Zummar, Sinjar and Wana, located in the province of Nineveh, about forty
kilometers north of Mosul. Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul was just the first
to fall into Islamist hands, and a caliphate
has been set up there with strict Sharia law, forcing 500 thousand Christians
and Muslims to flee.
UN estimates report that July was a tragic month for Iraq, particularly for civilians 1,737 people have been killed in acts of terrorism and violence, while 1,978 others were injured and the central government - riven by internal feuds that have so far failed to see the controversial Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steo down- seems unable to deal with the threat.
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02/08/2014
