+++22:00 pm+++ Over 2000 armed Yezidis on the way to Shingal

Over 2000 Yezidi recruits have been trained militarily in the past few days to join the armed forces fighting against IS terrorists, internal Yezidi and state sources of the Kurdistan Regional Government told us a few days ago.

The recruits are mainly refugees who had to flee to Dohuk after the IS terrorists´ onslaught on Shingal. The predominant young men who have been trained and armed in training camps of the Kurdish YPG will join YPU and YBS forces in their fight against IS. In the meantime, Peshmerga units are believed to advance to Shingal together with hevy weaponry to recapture territory occupied by terrorists.

About 5000 Yezidis are currently fighting for the liberation of Shingal.

+++18:00 pm+++ Fierce fightings in Jedale: IS terrorists apparently commit further massacres

After IS terrorists destroyed yesterday a Yezidi sanctuary in the town of Jedale, fierce fightings erupted with YBS and PKK forces.

Yesterday, IS terror squads started a major offensive on Jedale: 8 tanks, 15 armored vehicles and 70 armed vehicles were reportedly deployed by IS terrorists to take over the Yezidi town. Kurdish forces hold up resistance until 13:30 am, killing 8 terrorists and destroying two vehicles. One armored vehicle could be seized.

However, the Kurdish forces had to withdraw due to the massive military superiority of IS terrorists. The terrorists are believed to have taken punitive measures against the local population, carrying out massacres in around 10 villages and setting fire to the houses.

+++15:00 pm+++ 12 former Russian elite soldiers in Shingal

12 former Russian elite soldiers of Yezidi origin are among the Yezidis from Russia who went to Iraq in order to put up resistance against IS terrorists. For safety reasons they have kept their identity secret until their arrival in Shingal.

The soldiers were trained in intelligence and military elite troops of Russia, as one of the soldiers told fighters on the ground. They will join the armed Yezidi forces and strengthen their military clout against the IS terrorists.

25th August

+++15:00 pm+++ Joint PKK and YBS attack: 22 terrorists killed in Shingal

PKK and YBS fighters have killed a large number of terrorists in heavy clashes with IS in Shingal. The forces reportedly attacked an IS convoy, causing the death of 22 IS terrorists.

Clashes also erupted in Jedale where Yezidi YBS fighters killed 4 IS terrorists. The clashes in Jedale occurred following the destruction of a Yezidi sanctuary by IS terrorists. There is no information about casualties on the Kurdish side.

The united forces of PKK and YBS have also intensified their attacks on IS terrorists. More heavy clashes are to be expected.

+++14:15 pm+++ IS terrorists destroyed sanctuary of Sheikh Mend

IS terrorists have destroyed a sanctuary built in compliment to the Yezidi saint Sheikh Mend in the town of Jedale. Both news agencies and Yezidis from the region confirm this report. The village is located south of the Shingal mountains and west of the same-named town of Shingal.

Family members of the legendary tribal leader Hamoye Shero who hosted 20,000 Christians during the Armenian genocide in 1915 and defended them from massacres are currently putting up resistance against the terrorists.

The sanctuary of Sheikh Fekhredin in Sikaniye which is a few kilometres west of Jedale is also under threat of being destroyed by IS.

24th August

 

+++21:00 pm+++ Yezidis from Russia join Yezidi forces in Shingal

Several Yezidis from Russia have joined armed Yezidi forces due to the ongoing threat situation in Shingal, our Russian editorial team has learned from internal circuits. Name and numbers of those individuals will be kept secret due to safety reasons.

Because large parts of Shingal are still under IS terrorists control, two Yezidi armed forces have been formed to fight alongside Kurdish forces for the liberation of Shingal. On the one hand, there is the Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho, on the other hand there is Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS) which was initiated by the Kurdish YPG.

+++17:00 pm+++ Heavy weapons for Yezidi fighters: 3 IS armored vehicles destroyed

Fighters of the Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho have destroyed three armored IS vehicles and killed its occupants. In addition, they managed to seize a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, Shaafaq-News reported with reference to YPU fighters.

So far, IS terrorists were superior with sophisticated weapons and armored vehicles they had captured in Mosul as Iraqi soldiers deserted and created a security vacuum. Peshmerga fighters who advanced to the YPU together with armor-piercing weapons have overridden this imbalance with the result that Yezidis are now able to defend themselves effectively.

YPU fighters also reported that U.S. drones and fighters jets bombed IS terrorist positions in the immediate vicinity of the Shingal mountains.

+++15:10 pm+++ Situation remains catastrophic: 430,000 Yezidis on the run

In a press release the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany indicated that there are 430,000 displaced Yezidis scattered in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. A delegation consisting of the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany, the Association of Kurdish Doctors in Germany and Yezidi intellectuals is currently inspecting the refugee camps.

Telim Tolan, Chairman of the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany, traveled to Iraq after enquiring about the refugee situation in Turkey. He travels on behalf of a task force of Yezidi associations and organizations from Germany to assess the situation of refugees on the ground. The initiated humanitarian aids had reached the refugees only to around 10 percent, the task force announced in its last press release. Even the inhabitants of Kurdistan who reportedly campaign for the refugees with full dedication can only absorb slightly the mass of refugees. Because in addition to Yezidis tens of thousands of Christians, Turkmens, Shabaks, Mandeans , Yarsanis and even moderate Sunnis are also on the run from IS. Moreover, there are further tens of thousands of refugees from Syria in Kurdistan who fled due to the Syrian civil war.

According to the doctors it cannot be ruled out that the current situation might cause mass suicides because of severe traumatic experiences the refugees had to go through. Thousands of refugees are in danger of dying even in the refugee camps. Around 20 people have already died in a small refugee camp in Zakho, ARD reported.

More than half of the Yezidi population in Iraq is on the run since the IS terrorists´ onslaught on Shingal. 120,000 refugees are located in the border region of Zakho, trying to cross the border into Turkey.

+++14:30 pm+++ Solakh liberated: 14 IS terrorists killed

Yesterday, Kurdish PKK forces liberated together with Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS) the village of Solakh in the west of Shingal. 14 IS terrorists were killed as the result of that operation, one YBS fighter called Ezdin Ibrahim Bishar lost his life during the clashes and is thus the first casualty of the YBS since its establishment.

Shingal´s Resistance Unit which mainly consists of Yezidi fighters was founded by the Kurdish YPG a few days after the IS terrorists´ onslaught on Shingal.

+++01:55 am+++ Turkmen town besieged by IS terrorists

For over 70 days IS terrorists are surrounding the Turkmen town of Amerli where 20.000 Shia Turkmens are in danger of dying. Over 50 elderly people died due to the lack of water, children died of thirst.

“It is a humanitarian disaster.Twenty thousand people in Amerli are fighting off death. There are children who are only eating once every three days. I can’t describe the situation. I just don’t know what to say”, Dr Albayati from the Turkmen Saving Foundation told BBC.

23rd August

 

+++13:00 an+++ Yezidi shrines destroyed in Bashiqa

IS terrorists have destroyed all Yezidi shrines built in compliment to the Yezidi saints Sheikh Hasan and Sheikh Shems in Bashiqa. There is talk of at least three destroyed shrines. Last night, terrorists reportedly used explosives to blow up the shrines, several eyewitnesses and journalists consistently confirm.

Bashiqa is located in the Sheikhan which is part of the Kurdistan region.

+++12:30 am+++ Yarsani pilgrimage site destroyed by IS terrorists

IS terrorists have completely destroyed a Yarsani sanctuary in the village of Tola Hamdi, located in northern Iraq. Many people are on the run for fear of further attacks. The attack is believed to have taken place last midnight. According to a Yarsani representative the pilgrimage site had an age of around 700 years and was of particular importance for Yarsanis. Yarsanis are a religious minority within the Kurdish community.

+++01:20 am+++ Attack on Sherfedin sanctuary: 24 IS terrorists killed

Yezidi forces led by Qasim Shesho killed at least 24 IS terrorists in Shingal as they launched an attack on them near the holy Yezidi sanctuary of Sherfedin. The terrorists´ assault could be repelled, fighters of Yezidi forces reported.

Since their onslaught on Shingal IS terror squads are trying to destroy the Sherfedin sanctuary, foundering frequently on Yezidi fighters supported by Kurdish forces.

22nd August

+++16:00 pm+++ Large IS terrorist units on the way to Shingal – Shesho: “We will receive them appropriately”

After the IS terrorists´ advance could be stopped by massive U.S. air strikes, the Iraqi air force and Kurdish ground forces, another IS onslaught on Shingal is imminent. Moreover, the strategically important Mosul dam in northern Iraq could be recaptured, causing the death of many terrorists. It is the first major defeat of IS in Iraq. Another large-scale offensive by IS terrorists is apparently being prepared to take vengeance for these setbacks.

In a telephone conversation with Qasim Shesho, the German commander of the Yezidi Protection Unit, ezidiPress was told that large forces of IS terrorists were heading from Syria to Shingal. To avoid large losses by potential air strikes, the terror squads were branching out into many small units and drawing closer to Shingal. It is feared that they are aiming for surrounding the local Yezidi forces.

For days, commander Qasim Shesho appeals to the Kurdish government that armor-piecing weapons are needed in order to recapture Shingal .So far, only Kurdish YPG and PKK had provided and supported him and his fighters not only with weapons but also with a contingent of YPG and PKK fighters.

According to Shesho a heavily armed Peshmerga unit has already advanced to them. Mansour Barzani, son of President Masud Barzani, told him by phone that more Peshmerga divisions were on the way to Shingal to strengthen their presence in that region. The much-needed armor-piecing weapons as well as heavy artillery are believed to get to the Yezidi forces soon together with Peshmerga units. Previously, light weapons and ammunition had been delivered.

Shesho was optimistic as he gave a statement about the advancing terrorists: “We will receive them appropriately.”

+++12:00 am+++ Village of Heyal liberated in Shingal

Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS) succeeded in pushing back IS terrorists from the village of Heyal, Shingal in corporation with YPG and PKK fighters.

Last night heavy clashes erupted between the Kurdish forces and IS terrorists in Heyal, leading to hours of fierce fightings which continued until Kurdish fighters destroyed an armored IS vehicle.

+++01:00 am+++ Pilgrimage site destroyed in Babire, 35 terrorists killed

IS terrorists have destroyed Babire´s regional Yezidi pilgrimage site of Shaqsebat. Babire consists of five villages and is located north of the Assyrian dominated town of Tel Keyf close by Mosul.

With their onslaught on Shingal on August 3 the terrorists began to attack simultaneously the Kurdistan region east of the Mosul dam. A few days after the first attacks villagers of Babire fled, IS terrorists took over the township.

On August 17 the Kurdish Peshmerga Army managed to retake the areas with the help of American and Iraqi air strikes. Villagers of Babire report ezidiPress on at least 35 dead terrorists.

21st August

+++14:00 am+++ Hundreds of children died of thirst, starved to death on the mountains

Refugees who were trapped in the mountains and managed to escape due to an escape corridor established by YPG and PKK units are severely traumatized by their experiences. Many of them do not want to return, their homeland´s ground is soaked in blood of their loved ones, their homes are destroyed, they are deprived of their future.

Refugees consistently report ezidiPress on how they were witnessing such mass killings. In many cases people had to watch their relatives being beheaded in front of their eyes. “We´re done with this country”, said a Yezidi villager who escaped to the Kurdish areas of Turkey.

+++13:55 am+++ Mass graves in Shingal: Women and children buried alive

There are accounts of survivors and eyewitnesses that do not occur even in the worst horror movies. Stories of a genocide: Hundreds of people are being rounded up, women and children are being thrown into mass graves and buried alive – buried alive by terrorists of the so called Islamic State (IS).

As IS terror squads invade the Shingal region on August 3, they begin to surround villages and round up its residents. Following this, they start to excavate graves: “We did not understand. Then they started to put people in those holes, those people were alive”, an Yezidi eyewitness called Ali told Daily Mail.

“After a while we heard gunfire. I can’t forget that scene. Women, children, crying for help. We had to run for our lives, there was nothing to be done for them”, Ali continued.

Dawud Hassan, another Yezdi who witnessed the terrorists´ cruelty reported that a woman´s hands were tied to the back of a car and her legs to another, being split into two pieces because she refused to convert to Islam.
“They put women and children under the ground. They were alive. I still hear their screams. They were trying to keep their heads up to keep breathing”, Hassan said.

+++00:00 am+++ IS terrorists execute U.S. American journalist

IS terrorists have beheaded the U.S. American photojournalist James Wright Foley. The terrorists threatened to murder another American if U.S. President Obama does not stop air strikes against terrorist positions in Iraq.

20th August

+++01:50 am+++ Terrorist group IS sells Yezidi women and children in Syria

The Arab news agency ARANEWS reports with reference to eyewitnesses that Yezidi women and children are being offered for sale in the region of Al-Hasakah, located in northeast Syria. According to the eyewitnesses around 200 women and children are being held captive in Tal Hamis and the immediate vicinity after having been kidnapped by IS terrorists in Shingal, Iraq.

Many underage girls are among the 200 women who are offered for sale for several thousand dollars. Arab clans which are collaborating with the IS terrorists are providing help for housing and selling the women, as the eyewitness Raman Joseph told ARANEWS.

After IS terrorists attacked and overran the mainly by Yezidis inhabited Shingal region in northern Iraq on August 2 and 3, thousands of Yezidi women and children have been kidnapped by the terrorist organization. They are being sold as slaves at markets in Mosul. Many of these women reported their relatives on brutal rapes and abuses.

Even household goods plundered by the terrorists in Shingal are being sold at markets in Syrian cities and villages.

19th August

 

+++17:30 pm+++ Qasim Shesho Unit still without relief supplies

In a telephone conversation with relatives of Qasim Shesho , the head of the Yezidi Protection Unit that is defending the sanctuary of Sherfedin, ezidiPress was told that Shesho and his fighters were still barred from relief supplies.

Qasim Shesho asks for direct channels of supplies, calling for providing both relief supplies and weapons.  For two weeks, Shesho and his fighters are successfully defending the Yezidi sanctuary of Sherfedin which is consistently under attack of IS terrorists. They are supported by around 50 YPG fighters.

The YPU has multiply rescued Yezidi refugees and needs therefore urgent supplies for supporting and defensive measures. Relief supplies were dropped only once nearby, leaving behind water bottles which broke to more than 80 % as they hit the ground.

In order to keep defending the Yezidi sanctuary successfully, Qasim Shesho wants Yezidi forces to be involved in supplies of arms provided for the Peshmerga army.

+++ 4:00 am +++ Up to 3000 Yezidi women and children kidnapped by IS

The British newspaper Daily Mail states that up to 3000 women and girls have been kidnapped by IS terrorists in just a fortnight as the terrorists started to carry out the genocide of Yezidis. Whilst taking into account all events available to us, the number might be sharply higher.

According to eyewitness accounts available to ezidiPress women and children are held captive in hundreds in and partly outside the region of Shingal, including many underage girls. The victims´ relatives could contact the kidnapped women several times via phone, being always told of brutal rapes and abuses. The women begged for U.S. air strikes to be released from their agony.

Dozens of women that were kidnapped and raped by IS terrorists committed suicide after their release or liberation. Many women and children have been deported to the IS controlled military airport of Tal Afar. Buses and trucks full of women and children have been taken away, eyewitnesses told Iraqi officials. According to the Red Crescent in Iraq many of these women and children will be sold at slave markets in Mosul. With reference to refugees the Guardian reported that some of them were sold as sex slaves for a few dollars.

Sunni-Arab eyewitnesses reported that more than 1000 women and children have been kidnapped from the village of Tel Kucho. On August 16 and 17 IS terrorists carried out a massacre in that village, killing at least 400 men.

The Yezidi MP Viyan Dekhil pointed out that up to 600 women were being held captive in prisons located in the Nineveh region. The politician Kheri Shingali speaks of another 300 women and children kidnapped by IS. He was told that the women and children were brought temporarily to Syria and then back to Iraq. They are being abused and asked to convert to Islam. After the bloodbath of Tel Kucho another massacre is now is to be feared.

18th August

 

+++20:10 pm+++ Offensive in Shingal: 37 IS terrorists killed

Bari, Shingal – The Yezidi village Bari in the south of Shingal has been liberated from IS terrorists. The United Kurdish forces, consisting of Peshmerga, YPG, PKK, YBS and YPU, have liberated several villages in the western and eastern part of Shingal whilst pushing back IS terrorists.

37 terrorists were killed as the result of clashes in the villages of Bari, Kizilkent, Gupal and Kara, many IS vehicles were destroyed. Moreover, a large amount of weapons could be seized according to the journalist Kovan Direj who is currently on-site. Around 2000 refugees still trapped in the mountains will brought to the sanctuary of Sherfedin where they will be supplied with relief supplies from Rojava, the Kurdish enclaves in Syria.

Three men that survived the massacre carried out by IS terrorists in Tel Kucho report Kurdish forces that around 600 men were executed at that time. The women were deported to Tal Afar. Until now, it was assumed that 400 men were killed. An official confirmation did take place.

+++18:20 pm+++ YBS kills 6 terrorists

Kizilkent, Shingal – Six IS terrorists have been killed in clashes with Shingal´s Protection Unit (YBS) in Kizilkent, a village located in the north of Shingal.

Previously, IS terrorists had attacked an escape corridor which was established by YPG units for the escape of the refugees trapped in the mountains. Firat News reported that heavy artillery was used by IS to shoot at the corridor. The clashes are ongoing.

+++18:00 pm+++ 24 terrorists killed

Gupal, Shingal – 24 terrorists have been killed on Sunday afternoon in clashes with Yezidi militias near the village of Gupal, three Yezidi fighters lost their lives. A Yezidi fighter told the Iraqi news agency Alsumaria that they would not rest until Shingal would be liberated from IS terrorists.

Gupal is located in the immediate vicinity of the Shingal mountains where tens of thousands of refugees sought shelter since the beginning of the Yezidi genocide. Almost all refugees could be evacuated with escape corridors in the north and south of the mountains.

The United Kurdish forces have launched a large-scale ground offensive to retake the region. Meanhwile, the Peshmerga army manages to push back IS terrorists from the eastern part of the Mosul dam with the support of U.S. air strikes. Several villages have been liberated, including the Yezidi dominated villages of Bashiq and Bahzan.

+++17:00 pm+++ Dozens of young Yezidis join Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS)

Sheikh Ilyas, a Yezidi dignitary, reports that more and more young Yezidis that are armed and trained by the YPG in Syria join Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS). Yesterday, 55 more young men joined the YBS.

The YBS which has committed to defend Shingal from IS terrorists was founded shortly after the arrival of YPG fighters in Shingal. Alongside the YPU led by Qasim Shesho from Germany, the YBS is the second major Yezidi military unit.

+++09:30 am+++ Tel Isqof and Babire liberated

With massive U.S. air support the Peshmerga Army managed to retake the eastern part of the Mosul Dam. According to the U.S. Central Command both fighter jets and drones were used to conduct air strikes against IS positions, destroying four armored personnel carriers, seven armed vehicles, two Humvees and an armored vehicle.

Babire and its five surrounding villages have been liberated due to the U.S. air strikes and ground offensive launched by Peshmerga fighters. Even the town of Bashiqa, mainly inhabited by Yezidis, could be recaptured. However, our correspondents reported us that the regional Yezidi sanctuaries have been completely destroyed by IS terrorists. Babire´s residents already fled a week ago.

Peshmerga commanders announced to launch further ground offensives  both in Zumar and Shingal.

+++03:30 am+++ 1000 Yezidi women and children kidnapped by IS terrorists

In an interview with 4News the policy adviser Dr. Mirza Dinnayi stated that over 1000 women and children have been kidnapped from the village of Tel Kucho by IS terror squads which stormed the village and killed all its Yezidi men. With reference to local sources Dinnayi told 4News that the number of killed Yezidi men from Tel Kucho came to 350. About a week ago terrorists surrounded Tel Kucho and issued an ultimatum to its residents: convert or face death. Around 200 families lived there.

Dinnayi also stated that the U.S. had been repeatedly informed about that imminent massacre, asking for air strikes to prevent the mass murder. According to the information currently available to us PKK units declared their willingness to storm the village – with reference to potential civilian casualties. However, air strikes were necessary to clear the path to Tel Kucho which is 25 kilometres away from the mountains.

The women and children were deported to Tal Afar and Baaj.  Non-Yezidi neighbors told local officials that women and children were taken away in buses by IS terrorists. Several thousand Yezidi women and children are being held captive by IS.

17th August

+++20:45 pm+++
Fewaz (22), Yezidi refugee: “The terrorist group lined up the men and shot them all down. I survived under the bodies.”
Source

+++19:35 pm+++ 312 more Yezidi men executed in Tel Kucho

Senior officials have reported SkyNews on another 312 Yezidi men which have been executed today in the same village of Tel Kucho where yesterday IS terrorists executed more than 100 men as they refused to convert to Islam.

ezidiPress correspondents pointed to the fact that far more than 80 Yezidi men were executed. Around 1200 Yezidis were located at Tel Kucho, women and children were deported in buses, men were executed.

+++16:05 pm+++ Heavy clashes at the sanctuary of Sherfedin

Once again heavy clashes erupted between the Yezidi Protection Unit (also known as Qasim Shesho Unit) and IS terror squads at the sanctuary of Sherfedin. The YPU repelled the attack, killing two terrorists. For weeks, the terrorists are trying to take over and destroy the Yezidi sanctuary. Until now, the massive contingent of Yezidi fighters could repel every attack the terrorists carried out.

An YPU fighter told us yesterday that neither replenishment nor relief supplies had arrived at the sanctuary. Only YPG fighters would go to the rescue and supply them with necessities. He also said that U.S. air strikes were necessary to displace the terrorists from that area.

+++09:00 pm+++ UN resolution: „Declaration of war” against terror group IS

In a long overdue resolution the UN Security Council unanimously decided to act against the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) and impose sanctions on its backers to cut off the terrorists´ finance and recruitment policy. The British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said sanctions hit six Islamist leaders and foreign financial backers.

+++06:20 am+++ U.S. drones destroyed on Friday IS positions south of Shingal after the terrorists attacked Kurdish defense forces. The U.S. Central Command confirmed the destruction of two armored IS vehicles.

More air strikes against IS will be carried out in case of necessity, President Obama announced in his recent press release. U.S. drones also attacked IS terrorists near the Mosul dam to burst the terrorists´ siege on the dam.

Meanwhile, more European countries announced their willingness to support the Kurds in their fight against IS by providing weapons. The U.S. has already begun to arm Kurdish forces

+++03:45 am+++ Refugee to ezidiPress: „Some villages south of Shingal have been abandoned by IS terrorists because bodies are laying there for 12 days in the heat and are badly decomposed. The smell is unbearable. The afflicted villages are for example Siba Sheikh Kidir and Til Azer “

16th August

+++19:50 pm+++
About 200 men were executed in Tel Kucho by IS terrorists. Arab residents of Tel Kucho reported that women and children were taken away in buses. It is expected that IS will carry out more massacres  of Yezidis

+++19:40 pm+++ GlobalPost in a conversation with Yezidi refugees:

“They were firing at us as we were running away from our home. There was total chaos,” Khalaf said.

“We lost my little Alifa and my son Imad on the way. I don’t know where they are, I don’t know if we’ll ever find them again,” he said, struggling for breath as he fought back the tears.

“We don’t have a car. We had to run up Mount Sinjar, with just the clothes we were wearing. There were many people around us as we ran,” he said.

“The YPG opened a front against IS from the Syrian side of the border and lost eight fighters before it could secure a route out for the Yazidis,” she said.

His wife Khonaf had to leave her blind mother behind too. “She couldn’t have made the journey,” she said, squinting into the sun.

+++ 16:40 pm+++ 208 enslaved women ask for redemption by air strikes

Kheri Shingali, Yezidi politician and fighter of the Yezidi Protection Unit that is led by Qasim Shesho, reports on desperate cries for help of enslaved women.  Around 208 women have been captivated and enslaved by IS terrorists in a school in Baaj. The women reported on brutal rapes and abuses. Now they ask for air strikes against the school to put them out of their misery.

+++15:50 pm+++ Massacre in Tel Kucho

The terrorists have begun to carry out the mass execution of Yezidis in Tel Kucho. According to information we have received 80 Yezidi men were executed after refusing to convert to Islam. More victims are to be expected.

The kidnapped women and children of about 200 families from Tel Kucho have been deported to Tal Afar

+++14:25 pm+++ IS terror squads storm third village – captives from Shingal brought to threatened village – mobile phones taken away

As we have just learned, the IS terrorists have suited the action to the word and invaded with additional terror squads and vehicles the village of Tel Kucho, one of three villages that has been threatened by IS.

Yezidis which were captured in Shingal have been brought to Tel Kucho. It is believed that a mass execution is being prepared. The ultimatum which the terrorists issued to the village expired yesterday. Previously, a neighboring Arab tribe tried to save the Yezidis from death – without success.

Villagers confirmed and told us that IS terrorists have begun to take away the Yezidis´ mobile phones. Telephone contact  is no longer possible

+++04:55 am+++ Yezidi sanctuaries destroyed in Babire

According to the Yezidi writer and activist Dawid Mirad Khetari Yezidi sanctuaries have been destroyed by IS terrorists in the village of Babire. On 7th of August the residents fled from their villages as IS terrorists were moving closer.

Babire is located in the north of Til Kaf which is also occupied by the terrorists

+++02:40 am+++ Too early for an all-clear signal?

Contrary to the UN report, it is believed that instead of 1000 refugees 10,000 are still trapped in the mountains. A reporter working for the German TV magazine Panorama could directly contact with a refugee trapped in the mountains, telling him of another 10,000 refugees which have not been discovered by the aid workers so far

+++00:00 am: Ultimatum expired: Arab tribe protects surrounded Yezidis

A few days ago we reported about three villages IS terrorists surrounded and issued an ultimatum to: convert or face death. Two villages have been able to seize the opportunity and escape by night as heavy clashes took place while the third one was besieged by IS terrorists, reaffirming the ultimatum. An friendly Arab tribe managed to negotiate the ultimatum´s prolongation until yesterday´s Wednesday.

Even after the ultimatum’s expiry the tribe opposed the terrorists and saved the Yezidis from death. The terrorists rely on the help of Sunni Arab tribes which is why they had to accommodate that request. A safe-conduct requested by Yezidis is not possible because mobile IS terrorists could attack the refugees.

The villagers now rely on further help of their Arab neighbors which oppose the terrorists. It remains open how long the terrorists will give way to pressure

15th August

 

+++14:30 pm+++ Yezidi mother to Rudaw TV: “Three of my daughters were kidnapped, raped and then they committed suicide.”

+++14:00 pm+++ Our correspondent reports us that a Yezidi fighter who had joined the YPG committed suicide in the mountains after seeing the bodies of many young children.

+++13:30 am+++ UN: 1000 refugees still on the mountains

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) announced in a statement that 1000 refugees from original 80,000 are still on the mountains of Shingal. The aid workers have been already informed about the refugees´ whereabouts.

Yesterday, following U.S. air strikes and military offensives of the United Kurdish Forces another escape corridor could be opened in the north of the mountains, giving the 30,000 refugees the opportunity to escape death. According to UNAMI the refugees were “extremely exhausted”

 +++10:50 am+++ 7th anniversary of the terrorist attack against Yezidis in 2007 that killed 796 Yezidis and injured another 1500 people

+++10:20 am+++ After night-time rescue operation: A few hundred families still on the mountains

The U.S. military and United Kurdish Forces managed to break through the siege on the Shingal mountains which had been surrounded by IS terrorists. With brute force the terrorists were forced to escape from several places around the mountains so that new corridors could have been opened for the refugees. According to unconfirmed reports the majority of refugees have been rescued. Our information is that a few hundred families are still persevering in mountain areas difficult to access. It is a matter of mainly three areas that are currently being reported to the U.S. Embassy.

At night, special units of the U.S. army arrived in the mountains to take a sounding of the situation and coordinate the relief efforts

+++04:30 am+++ US special forces and special units of the British SAS have arrived in the mountains of Shingal

A rescue of some 30.000 refugees trapped in the mountains is more likely. At night, an US special unit consisting of 20 men arrived in the Shingal mountains to assess the situation and conceive potential evacuation measures.
British special forces of the SAS have also arrived in Iraq. According to the British Prime Minister David Cameron SAS helicopters will be used to enable an evacuation of trapped refugees from the air.

U.S. President Obama announced that ground forces would only come into question for the purpose of evacuating the refugees. Ground forces will not engage in combat operations. According to a high-level U.S. official ground forces will be called into action if the military advisers in Iraq consider it necessary for the rescue of the refugees.

Yesterday, U.S. drones bombed an IS convoy near Shingal. Obama announced that more air strikes will follow in order to protect the escape corridor from Shingal to Syria. Eight British fighter jets are also in position to carry out air strikes against IS positions. In the meantime, British Chinook transport helicopters are brought into position to contribute to a potential evacuation of refugees.

The U.S. drones´ and British fighter jets´ task is also to scout landing fields for the transport helicopters. However, military experts assume that an evacuation seems too risky due to the uneven mountains and the lack of landing fields.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the Telegraph that the main task was to initially ensure the refugees´ supply and save them from death. He also announced that an international mission was prepared to rescue the trapped refugees.

At the moment, an extended rescue mission seems to be unlikely due to the improving supply situation, U.S. special forces evaluated. In view of the fact that the People´s Protection Unit (YPG) managed to establish an escape corridor, tens of thousands of refugees have been already rescued.

The recapturing of Shingal appears to be more probable following the supply of military equipment from various countries to the Kurdish government. Until now the Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho also criticized missing supplies of weapons as yesterday heavy clashes with IS terrorists took place at the sanctuary of Sherfedin.

Meanwhile, rescued refugees that are in Syria and Kurdistan report on more and more massacres in which they were eyewitnesses. Even after the evacuation and rescue of the last refugees the question arises how and by whom the bulk of refugees will be supplied.

14th August

+++20:00 pm+++ The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has announced the elimination of 70 IS terrorists as the result of four air strikes conducted by the Iraqi air force against IS positions in Shingal. The terrorist leader Ahmed Mohammed Roshan was allegedly among the killed terrorists

+++19:50 pm+++ Tomorrow is the anniversary of the coward terrorist attack against Yezidis in 2007 in Shingal. The result: 800 dead, 1500 casualties, thousands of destroyed families.

On 14th August of 2017 al-Qaida terrorists used several vehicles fully laden with explosives to completely destroy the Yezidi villages Siba Sheikh Kidir and Qatahniya, located in Shingal. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in history after the September 11 attacks.

Coming to terms with this massacre, the Yezidis have to grieve again – for thousands of deaths. And again both villages are the basis for the current genocide on Yezidi people as the first battles with IS terrorists have been decided and lost in those villages.

Benjamin Mixon, the former Lieutenant General and commander of the U.S. army in Iraq, about the massacre of 2007: “”This is an act of ethnic cleansing, and if you will, almost genocide”.

+++14:50 pm+++ Peshmerga commander Serbest Bapiri suspended

On August 3rd 2014 Peshmerga soldiers surprisingly retreat from the Shingal region and flee without evacuating or warning the civilian population. IS terrorists storm the towns and villages of Yezidis without facing resistance by the Peshmerga. After that a genocide against Yezidis takes place, continuing to this day. Over 200,000 Yezidis were forced to flee, thousands were immediately massacred, tens of thousands were driven to the mountains where thousands starved and died of thirst.

Now, Masud Barzani, the President of the Autonomous Kurdistan Region who came under fire following this debacle, took appropriate steps and suspended the responsible Peshmerga commander Serbest Bapiri of the 17th Division. He now follows the Peshmerga commander Said Bedeli who had been suspended before.

More people in authority will be suspended from office, Barzani announced in a statement. Yezidi representatives such as Qasim Shesho threatened to bring those responsible to justice by themselves if authorities would not take action.

Qasim Shesho also published a list of names which bear the direct responsibility for the genocide of Yezidi people. However, many Yezidis see Masud Barzani and his KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) as the main culprits

+++14:20 pm+++ Yezidi survivor from the village of Til Benat:

“We resisted, fought against them. As we had no more ammunition, the terrorists stormed our village, we had to step forward. Men, women, children, elderly. They began to kill all of them, to shoot at anyone. It was a massacre. My entire extended family has been killed, my whole tribe. Nearly 300 people have been executed, several bullets hit me but I survived because I was hiding under the bodies until the terrorists moved on – to the next village”

13th August

+++21:55 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent: Around 6000 refugees arrived at Dohuk

Around 6000 refugees trapped in the mountains have been evacuated and flown to the Kurdish city of Dohuk. Many were completely exhausted and provided immediately. According to YPG fighters another 8000 could have been escorted to Syria via the emergency corridor they had established. The distance between the Shingal mountains and the Syrian border comes to about 20 kilometres refugees have to walk.

Because many were too weak for the arduous march the Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho decided to transport the refugees with vehicles to the Syrian border.

30.000 refugees whose rescue is still prevented by IS terrorists´ shelling of both the emergency corridor and airlift have remained on the mountains. Today, U.S. drones bombed again IS positions around the mountains and eliminated terrorists.

+++20:35 pm+++ U.S. drone bombs IS positions in Shingal

According to the U.S. Central Command IS positions have been bombed by a U.S. drone as the terrorists attacked both the emergency corridor and Kurdish fighters with mortal shells

+++20:30 pm+++ Helicopter crash: Dr. Mirza Dinnayi also among the crew

Dr. Mirza Dinnayi, a Yezidi politician, was also among the crew when a helicopter crashed and caused the death of the pilot and a refugee on the Shingal mountains. Dinnayi survived with minor injuries

+++18:50 pm+++ IS terrorists start to attack the religious Yarsani minority near Kirkuk

+++18:05 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent: “Viyan Dekhil injured slightly, no mortal danger for the other casualties.”

+++17:50 pm+++ Helicopter crash: Pilot dead, 22 injured

According to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw a pilot died and 22 were injured in consequence of a helicopter crash during a rescue mission on the Shingal mountains. Among the 22 injured people are Viyan Dekhil and Yadigar Fazil Miran. We have no information about the severity of the injuries.

Apparently, the pilot lost control of the helicopter which belonged to the Iraqi air force and was sent to the mountains to deliver relief supplies to the trapped refugees.

+++17:20 pm+++ Helicopter crashed during rescue mission: Viyan Dekhil among the crew

As we have just learned, a helicopter crashed during a rescue mission on the Shingal mountains. Among the crew is Viyan Dekhil, a Yezidi MP.

According to current information the pilot died, another dozen people are believed to be injured. The reason for the crash is unknown

+++14:35 pm+++ The UK now officially sends jet fighters to Shingal to escort the delivery of relief supplies

+++14:30 pm+++ PKK unit protects central Yezidi sanctuary

According to the Kurdish TV channel Ronahi TV a PKK unit has arrived at the central Yezidi sanctuary Lalish to take security precautions. Our correspondents confirm the arrival of PKK fighters at Lalish.

It is unknown if the enhanced security measures are related to the arrests of IS terrorists in Sheikhan or the clashes in Bahzan. Probably the PKK acts of pure prevention. It also appears to be possible that the PKK uses Lalish as a safe haven after its fighters have fought succesfully in Makhmur. Prior to that Yezidi representatives called for intensified security measures in Lalish.

The PKK fighters are considered as experienced and effective fighters that are able to strike powerfully and repel attacks even with smaller units

+++13:40 am+++ Viyan Dekhil: 600 Yezidi women and girls are held captive in prisons of Nineveh

The Yezidi MP Viyan Dekhil said in a statement that according to available information around 600 Yezidi women and girls are being held in prisons of Nineveh. IS terrorists have kidnapped over a thousand Yezidi women and girls since their onslaught on Shingal.  Moreover, another thousands of female Christians from Mosul and other Christian strongholds are also held captive by IS terrorists.

One of the prisons that are in control of IS is the prison of Badush which had been taken over by the terrorists during the conquest of Mosul. The fate of these women is unknown so far.

In telephone conversations with their relatives kidnapped women begged their relatives to make sure that air strikes are conducted against IS terrorists because they would “rather die than being raped.”

Yezidi refugees from Shingal consistently report how IS terrorists use whole trucks full of women and girls to bring them to Tal Afar. According to reports of the Red Crescent in Iraq many of them are being sold in Mosul. It is said that many have been already deported to Syria

+++08:50 am+++ Obama: American air force is ready to bomb the terrorists

In a press statement the U.S. President Obama said that US fighter jets are ready to bomb IS terrorists around the mountains if IS terrorists threaten the security of refugees on the Shingal mountains. Previously, Obama announced to take further measures in order to liberate the refugees.

IS terrorists are still threatening the airlift that has been created by Western and local forces to supply the thousands of refugees on the mountains. Yesterday, several deliveries of relief supplies could not take place due to the fact that IS terrorists were able to retake territory that is laying in the delivery route.

The recent air strikes against terrorist positions enabled the creation of an airlift and emergency corridor. The terrorists have surrounded the refugees on the mountains with the result that the refugees´ supply overland is not possible.

According to the European MP Michel Reimon who is currently in Kurdistan / Iraq thousands of refugees are threatened with death should the not be supplied in the next few hours with water and food

+++06:10 am+++ TIME Magazine, 11th of August:

“It is difficult to speak since I haven’t had water in three days,” the man wheezed through the line. “We don’t have anything–food, water, a place to sleep. We are eating the trees and their leaves. The [Kurdish] peshmerga hasn’t come, the Iraqi army hasn’t come, humanitarian aid hasn’t come. There are so many thousands of people here. I know at least 100 people have died already, many of them children.”

+++05:55 am+++ 300 children die after eating leaves

An eyewitness and refugee reported the news agency Shaafaq that around 300 children died from August 6 to 8 on the mountains by eating leaves from the surrounding trees and shrubs. Because the children were hungry and had nothing to eat, they consumed the leaves and suffocated to death

+++03:30 am+++ ”Tell them to kill the IS terrorists with air strikes, we would rather die than being raped”

The last few days we repeatedly pointed to rapes and kidnappings of Yezidi women and girls, to phone calls of desperate relatives. There are desperate cries for help of innocent women that wish for death because they are being raped by IS terrorists. A telephone conversation was recorded and presented to reporters of abcNEWS.

According to reports from refugees and eyewitnesses over a thousand women and girls have been kidnapped after the IS terrorists´ onslaught on Shingal. It is reported that some of them have been brought to the IS controlled military airport of Tal Afar from where they are flown to unknown places. According to the Red Crescent in Iraq more are reported to be sold as slaves in Mosul. Such reports are already known from the Syrian civil war

+++03:20 am+++ Terrorist sleeper cells uncovered in Sheikhan

In recent days Peshmerga units uncovered and arrested several terrorist sleeper cells in the region of Sheikhan. Both the IS flag and weapons could be found in houses belonging to the terrorists. In some cases even the neighbors of Christians and Yezidis were arrested and revealed to be IS sleepers.

We have reports of Peshmerga units claiming that dozens of such sleeper cells have been detected deep in the territory of Christians and Yezidis. A member of the Kurdish counter-terrorism unit told ezidiPress that even the Peshmerga was “shocked and surprised” about the high number of those cells. After the first sleeper cells had been detected, many more were uncovered soon after the terrorists were interrogated by Kurdish units. Many of the captured sleepers are of Kurdish origin.

Before, villages and small towns of Sheikhan had been threatened and partially attacked by IS terrorists. People fled to the north

+++01:55 am+++British jets to escort relief supplies

SkyNews reported that the British government plans to use RAF Tornado jets in order to secure the delivery of relief supplies. Large amounts of relief supplies from Great Britain have been transported to Iraq and will be now apparently escorted by British fighter jets. Despite the airlift the terrorists manage to take over time after time parts of the delivery route to jeopardize the delivery of relief supplies for refugees on the Shingal mountains

+++01:50 am+++Many refugees too weak to flee: Evacuation necessary

Those who still had enough strength to flee could use the emergency corridor to the Kurdish enclaves in Syria in order to escape from the Shingal mountains. But many others are too weak for the arduous march and are thereforewaiting for helicopters to evacuate them.

Those rescue missions are ongoing but have to be often ceased due to a lack of fuel. Many of the refugees that are remaining on the mountains have been provided essentials by the airdrop of supplies. Reports of rescued refugees still reveal new atrocities of IS terrorists. Mass killings, beheadings and even the killing of children are consistently reported by almost every village Yezidis had to flee from.

We cannot provide reliable information on the number of victims caused by IS terrorists. In all probability, it can be assumed that a double-digit number of thousands of victims will have to be lamented due to the direct and indirect consequences of this ethnic cleansing

12th August

+++20:00 pm+++ Viyan Dekhil in conversation with representatives of the European Union

The Yezidi MP and lawyer Viyan Dekhil (KDP) has consulted with representatives of the European in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to negotiate long-term solutions to the current crisis. Mrs. Dekhil propounded to major solutions:

  1.      The admission of refugees and granting of asylum
  2.      An international shelter for refugees initiated by the UN

According to Dekhil the EU representatives received the proposals favourably and pledged to redirect them to the EU leadership

+++14:55 am+++ What is the situation of the refugees in the mountains?

More than 40.000 refugees could be evacuated since the opening of an emergency corridor by YPG / PKK forces  and the rescue mission of the Kurdish government by helicopters. However, many refugees were too weak for the arduous march which is why 40.000 people are still on the mountains.
Thanks to the increased relief supplies from the U.S., Great Britain and all other countries that are involved, the supply situation has improved massively according to the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany.
Yet, reports on massacres, beheadings, kidnappings, rapes and enslavements of Yezidis become more frequent. Thousands of bodies are still laying on the streets and mountains of Shingal.
The rescue missions are ongoing, large amounts of relief supplies are reaching the refugees

+++00:35 am+++ Ultimatum prolonged with help of Arab tribes

We have spoken to the Yezidi activist Narin Shamo about the current situation of the Yezidi village that is threatened by the IS. One of the three threatened villages the IS terrorists issued an ultimatum to is still in danger of being erased by IS terrorists if its residents do not to convert to Islam. While residents of two villages were able to flee, a third one is still surrounded and threatened by the IS. The villagers could not seize the opportunity and escape because terrorists have occupied the village school.

The terrorists´ ultimatum to choose between converting to Islam or facing death expired yesterday. Neighboring Arab tribes that are the so called “Kirivs” (godparents) of the Yezidi village stepped in and managed to prolong the ultimatum until Wednesday. The tribes are currently trying to negotiate  safe-conduct for the Yezidis of the village. It can be doubted that the IS will fulfill the request

11th August

+++21:00 pm+++ The EU describes the situation in Iraq as a “crime against humanity”

+++19:25 pm+++ According to DIE WELT the German government has increased the budget for humanitarian aid from 2.9 million euros to 4.4 million euros

+++17:05 pm+++ The French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is currently in Iraq for discussing potential solutions to the current crisis with Yezidi representatives, including Hazim Tahsin Beg, Viyan Dekhil (KDP), Sheikh Kheto and Qewal Bahzed.

We will report soon on the results

+++16:25 pm+++ Yezidi Protection Unit frees 50 women and girls from the mountains

The Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho succeeded to get through to about 50 women and girls that have been trapped in a dangerous place of the Shingal mountains. After that, the refugees were escorted to the Kurds´ enclaves in Syria known as Rojava

+++15:50 pm+++ 1500 Yezidis still in danger of being executed by IS terrorists

According to the Yezidi activist and UNICEF Ambassador in Iraq, Narin Shamo, a total number of 1500 Yezidis that was not able to flee is still in danger of being executed by IS terrorists. The terrorists´ ultimatum will end today. They can put their threat into action at any time

+++15:30 pm+++ We were able to contact a refugee from one of the three threatened villages:

“Residents of the villages *** (censored due to security reasons) that have been threatened by IS terrorists succeeded to flee last night. But the residents of *** are still trapped in their village, facing a budding massacre. The ultimatum IS terrorists issued to the Yezidi residents will end today, the people need urgent help otherwise Yezidi families will be massacred”, the refugee told us via phone.

The terrorists issued an ultimatum to choose between converting to Islam or facing death

+++15:00 pm+++ 500 Yezidis executed by IS, some buried alive

Reference to the Iraqi Minister for Human Rights Mohammed Shia al-Sudani Sky News reported that IS terrorists have executed at least 500 Yezidis, some of them were buried alive, including women and children. In addition, 300 women have been kidnapped so far.

“We have striking evidence obtained from Yazidis fleeing Sinjar and some who escaped death, and also crime scene images that show indisputably that the gangs of the Islamic States have executed at least 500 Yazidis after seizing Sinjar”, al-Sudani told Reuters. He added: “Some of the victims, including women and children were buried alive in scattered mass graves in and around Sinjar.”

We pointed out multiple times reports we had obtained in the past, indicating that Yezidis discovered 53 bodies in the village of Ginia Miherkan and another 30 in the immediate vicinity. More massacres were reported us from Til Benat, Til Aziz and Duhola

+++14:30 pm+++ Two of the three surrounded villages could flee due to the ongoing clashes between IS terrorists and Kurdish forces. The third village which we do not want to mention because of security reasons is still in danger.

+++13:00 am+++ A Yezidi refugee told ezidiPress that another thousands of refugees could be rescued today from the mountains.

During the rescue mission fighter jets escorted the transport planes to secure them from IS terrorists that had tried to shoot down a helicopter carrying relief supplies the day before

+++04:00 am+++ The Telegraph reported that U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to work together to prevent a genocide on 300 Yezidi families. Yesterday, terrorists surrounded 300 Yezidi families in Hatimiya, Tel Kucho and Tel Qasab as they tried to escape. The terrorists issued an ultimatum that is going to expire on 10th of August. Until then, the families have to choose between converting to Islam or facing death. 1500 to 2000 people are directly afflicted  by the threat and are in acute danger.

The Arabic-language news agency Shaafaq told of 4.000 families which is apparently a misunderstanding

+++02:15 am+++ A few hours ago the U.S. Department of Defense stated in a press release that IS terrorists have been successfully eliminated by the American air force:

“U.S. Military Conducts Airstrikes Against ISIL in Iraq

U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Iraq today, successfully conducting four airstrikes to defend Yazidi civilians being indiscriminately attacked by ISIL near Sinjar.

At approximately 11:20 a.m. EDT, a mix of U.S. fighters and remotely piloted aircraft struck one of two ISIL armored personnel carriers firing on Yazidi civilians near Sinjar, destroying the APC. After the strike, U.S. forces monitored movement of the second ISIL APC from the vicinity, and subsequently located two ISIL APCs and an armed truck nearby.

At approximately 11:40 a.m. EDT, U.S. aircraft struck the two ISIL APCs and armed truck. All indications are that the strikes were successful in destroying their intended targets.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. EDT, U.S. aircraft located and struck another APC in the area of Sinjar. All indications are that this strike was also successful in destroying the APC. All aircraft safely exited the area.“

10th August

+++19:15 pm+++ Fear of massacre of 4000 families

According to Shaafaq-News the number of families the IS terrorists have issued an ultimatum to comes to 4000. IS terrorists threatened to kill the villagers if they do not convert to Islam. The three afflicted villages Hamidiya, Tel Kucho and Tel Qasab, about 24 kilometres south of the town of Shingal, have been surrounded by the IS. The journalist Ali Shingali reported that the terrorists refused to let the people flee

+++19:05 pm+++ Did not take long to bomb the terrorists

The expected and requested air strikes against IS terrorists near the pilgrimage site of Sherfedin have been just conducted. The Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho could – once again – defend the sanctuary successfully

+++19:00 pm+++ IS terrorists issue an ultimatum to Yezidis of Sinjar: If residents of Hamidiya, Tel Kucho and Tel Qasab are not going to convert to Islam, they will have to face death

+++18:50 pm+++ “They will kidnap the women, kill the children”

We could just reach a fighter of the Yezidi Protection Unit who told us of heavy clashes near the central pilgrimage site of Sherfedin: “We are in a fierce fighting with advancing IS terrorists. Thousands of children and women live in our near.  If the air force does not help us, they will break through our defense, kidnap the women, kill the children. Our ammunition is nearly exhausted.”

+++15:50 pm+++ Yezidi refugee on Rudaw TV: “100 Yezidi women have been kidnapped from the villages of Zorava and Herdan. Dozens were decapitated.”

+++13:55 am+++ A refugee located at the pilgrimage site of Sherfedin in Shingal to ezidiPress: “Many families have been rescued from the mountains and transported to safer areas in Kurdistan. The rescue mission is ongoing. Our goal is to rescue women, children, elderly and sick people that have survived so far. For the moment, the men will remain on the mountains.”

+++13:55 am+++ URGEND MESSAGE

As we have just learned, the Sheikhan region is currently attacked by IS terrorists. Heavy clashes are taking place. The IS terrorists are now only a few kilometres away from the central Yezidi sanctuary Lalish. We are trying to reach our correspondents to provide more information

+++12:05 am+++ Iraqi air force is distributing relief supplies to the refugees in the mountains

+++12:00 am+++ YPG spokesperson and commander Polat Can: “Is terrorists are tramping in the Shingal area with pictures of Apo (Abdullah Ocalan) to delude and decoy Yezidis”

+++10:00 am+++ Dr. Mirza Dinnayi, former policy adviser to the Iraqi president Talabani: “It´s a genocide. More than 80.000 refugees are  trapped in the mountains without food and water. Thousands of bodies are laying on the streets and in the valleys of the mountains.

2000 girls and women have been already kidnapped.  200.000 refugees arrived at Dohuk from Sinjar (Shingal) in the first days. Without international rescue missions we will be confronted with 50.000 victims.”

Dr. Mirza Dinnayi is currently participating in the rescue missions in Shingal

+++00:30 am+++ More and more relief supplies reach the refugees on the mountains of Shingal. The US has stepped up its humanitarian aid and transported a few hours ago again large quantities of relief supplies to the refugees.

Picture: The Twitter account of the Department of Defense shows the relief supplies which are going to be dropped over the mountains

9th August

+++22:50 pm+++ Italian Foreign Minister announces military and humanitarian support for Yezidis

The Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini announced in a phone call with Kurdistans´ president Barzani Italy´s willingness to provide the Kurds military advisers and support them militarily in their fight against the IS. In addition, she declared to provide humanitarian aid for Yezidi refugees

+++22:35 pm+++ Agit Mirzoev, chairman of the House of Yezidis in Georgia and human rights activist, met American diplomats due to the humanitarian disaster of Yezidis in Iraq. Mr. Mirzoev described the current situation and crimes committed against the Yezidis. Moreover, he pointed out to the diplomats that Turkey closed its borders so that refugees are not able to seek shelter in safer areas

+++19:38 pm+++ Talks between Telim Tolan, Chairman of the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany, and the US-American embassy in Berlin

+++19:30 pm+++ Axel Storm, ZDF correspondent: “The refugees´ situation is really a disaster”

+++19:25 pm+++ Around 11.000 Yezidis trapped in the mountains have been rescued by Kurdish forces and transported to Dohuk. A Rudaw reporter who is currently in the mountains of Shingal described the situation of Yezidi refugees as “doomsdays”

+++18:30 pm+++ Dr. Babille from UNICEF Iraq in an interview: There is not only a complex emergency and disaster but a situation in which a terrorist organization is taking civilian hostages and killing them. UNICEF is providing support and assistance as much as it is possible. People are not primarily dying because of the conflict but because of the lack of water and food. One of the key issue of the United Nations is to prevent in corporation with the Kurdish authorities a genocide

+++18:30 pm+++ Rudaw reports on massive bombings conducted by the American air force against positions of IS terrorists in Shingal

+++15:30 pm+++ Thousands of refugees fled to Syria and Turkey

Yesterday, after a mass exodus occurred in the region of Sheikhan, many Yezidi refugees went to the Syrian and Turkish border to enter the countries and seek shelter from IS terrorists. According to Rudaw 15.000 Yezidis have arrived at the Kurdish town of Derik, located in Rojava / northern Syria. However, many others are prevented from passing the borders

+++15:00 am+++ An IS leader aks his terrorist group via the internet not to leave Mosul despite the massive attacks of Kurdish, Iraqi and American forces. Is this the beginning of the end of IS?

+++14:50 am+++ Iraqi media reports on heavy air strikes against IS terrorists in the Yezidi village of Khanasor, located in the north of Shingal. 45 eliminated terrorists resulted from the air strikes

+++14:40 am+++ The German government announced to help Christians and Yezidis by providing 2.9 million euros for emergency aids. The Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier finds unambiguous and clear words for the current crisis in Iraq

+++14:20 am+++ We want to bring to mind that hundreds of thousands of Christians are currently on the run. Yesterday, the IS terrorists attacked Christian strongholds in the north of Iraq, especially Karakosh, forcing tens of thousands of Christians to flee from the town

+++14:00 pm+++ Kurdish forces, consisting of YPG, PKK, Peshmerga, YBS and YPU units, have killed 24 terrorists and destroyed a tank and three APCs in the last 24 hours in Shingal. More military offensives are ongoing

+++04:10 am+++ A few minutes ago, U.S. President Barack Obama announced in a press conference to authorize limited air strikes in order to fight the IS. Furthermore, Obama clarified that the U.S. has approved humanitarian airdrops for the refugees in the Shingal mountains

+++02:10 am+++ Shingal mountains: 45 Yezidi women threw themselves off the cliffs

According to a teacher from Bahzan who has direct phone contact to the refugees in the mountains 45 Yezidi women threw themselves off the cliffs after finding out that many of their relatives have died in the mountains or have been killed, raped or kidnapped by the terrorists

8th August

+++22:25 pm+++ Yezidi families to ezidiPress: “They sell our women in Mosul”

After hundreds of Yezidi women have been kidnapped by the IS Yezidi families try to reach their missing female relatives by phone.

In many cases the terrorists answered the phone, telling them scornfully that the women would be sold in Mosul. Some women have been already transferred out of the country by planes and helicopters. This was confirmed by the Yezidi MP Viyan Dekhil

+++22:00 pm+++Jews express their solidarity with Yezidis

While an ethnic cleansing is taking place in Iraq and children are dying because they have no access to food and water for four days, the world keeps quiet. Solidarity is expressed to a large extent by many Jews from Israel and the U.S. via social medial platform such as Facebook and Twitter

+++16:15 pm+++YPG units save 1000 refugees

YPG units managed to get to the refugees on the Shingal mountains and evacuate a thousand of them. The rescue operations are still ongoing

+++14:50 pm+++ The Yezidi reporter Berekat Isa  and Rudaw anchor burst into tears after describing the disastrous situation of Yezidi refugees

+++14:40 pm+++ Peshmerga, YPG, PKK, YBS and YPU have started a large-scale offensive against the terrorists in Shingal

PKK fighters in Shingal
Photo: Ronahi TV

+++14:20 pm+++ PKK units kill 30 terrorists in Yezidi village

PKK units have killed more than 30 IS terrorists during an operation in the Yezidi village of Gohl Bel north of the Shingal mountains. Gohl Bel is located nearby Sinune and belongs to the villages that had been attacked before the takeover of Shingal

+++13:30 am+++YPG and YBS fighters liberate Dugure

According to information we have received from our correspondents YPG and YBS (Shingal´s Resistance Unit) fighters have liberated the village Dugure in Shingal. The fighters are advancing, more villages are expected to be liberated

+++11:20 am+++ IS terrorists: “We will kill all Yezidi women that are in our hands”

On one of its many Twitter accounts the terrorists group Islamic State (IS) has announced to kill all kidnapped Yezidi women instead of selling them in the markets.

The terrorists group has not specified the number of kidnapped Yezidi women. It is presumed that it has kidnapped 500 to 1500 Yezidi women so far.

The terrorists regard the Yezidis as “the biggest infidels and devil worshippers”. Therefore they view it as a duty to kill the Yezidis.

Women that are held hostage by the IS are being raped, kept as slaves and then killed

7th August

+++23:10 pm+++ Yezidi woman in the mountains of Shingal: “If we don´t die of thirst or hunger,  then we will be killed by the terrorists. And if we want to live, we have to convert. Therefore we rather starve and die of thirst than giving up our faith”

+++22:50 pm+++Repeatedly confirmed via phone call: The last residents of the villages in and around Babire fled. Babire is located in the north of Til Kef

+++22:20 pm+++  Attack of IS terrorists cause another mass exodus

Again, thousands Yezidis and Christians are on the run after IS terrorists have attacked the town of Til Kef. Both Yezidis and Christians from Til Kef are on the run. We cannot confirm if the terrorist have taken control of the town. Yezidis from the surrounding villages Mahat, Babire, Sharya and Sigar fled out of fear.

We cannot confirm reports claiming that residents of Bashiq and Bahzan are also fleeing.

35000 Yezidis from Shingal which have found accommodation in Sharya after IS terrorists caused a mass exodus are fleeing again

+++22:00 pm+++ The Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho has been massively armed by the Iraqi army.

Iraqi army generals have dispatched several military helicopters to Shingal to provide the Yezidi Protection Unit weapons which the PKK / YPG also benefits from.
Heavy clashes are currently taking place in Shingal, further details cannot be published due to the threat situation

+++21:20 pm+++ German companies deliver relief supplies to Shingal

On behalf of aid agencies German companies have transported relief supplies to Shingal. According to the Federal Foreign Office more relief supplies will arrive in the coming days. Especially Dennis Rohde, MP and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, campaigns for the refugees in Shingal

+++21:00 pm+++ Refugees let us know via phone call that YPG and Peshmerga units have arrived at the sanctuary of Sherfedin which was defended for days by the Yezidi Protection Unit

Despite massive attacks on the sanctuary, the terrorists were not able to destroy the pilgrimage site.

+++20:30 pm+++ High ranked KDP official on Rudaw TV: Marooning women and children to the IS terror and driving them to the mountains where they have no food or water is not a strategy of the Peshmerga army.

We condemn this and will call those responsible to account. At the moment, we are focusing on helping the refugees and retaking the territories. PUK official tries to appease that Peshmerga commanders acted negligently in Shingal

+++20:25 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent confirms: Relief supplies are reaching more and more refugees in the mountains. Helicopters have transported large amounts of food and water to the mountains

+++20:20 pm+++ YPG commander and spokesperson Can Polat confirms: Two units of PKK have arrived directly at the refugees in the mountains

+++20:05 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent in Shingal: Large units of YPG, PKK, Peshmerga, YBS and QS are close to Sinune and the mountains. Smaller units already reach the refugees. Viyan Dekhil, Yezidi MP, reports that large quantities of relief supplies have reached the refugees

+++19:50 pm+++ Yezidi reporter Berekat Isa, Rudaw TV: “The IS terrorists have killed women and children in the village Siba Sheik Khider. Some of them were hanged.”

+++19:30 pm+++ SterkTV: YPG and YBS have liberated the village Dugira in Shingal

+++19:20 pm+++ Heavy clashes in Sinune (north Shingal)

Our correspondents confirm that Peshmerga, YPG and Yezidi units are in heavy fighting with IS terrorists

+++19:00 pm+++ Rudaw correspondent: We are witnessing a big humanitarian disaster in the mountains of Shingal, where people are stil waiting for relief supplies

+++17:50 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent in Shingal: Heavy clashes take place near the sanctuary of Sherfedin. The Yezidi Protection Units have killed about 40 terrorists, one Yezidi fighter died

+++17:20 pm+++ UNICEF: The number of children being trapped in the mountains comes to 25.000

+++17:00 pm+++ Ivar Ibrahim, Kurdish MP, to Rudaw: IS terrorists have kidnapped over 500 Yezidi women in the last two days

+++15:20 pm+++ Jet fighters of the Iraqi army are currently bombing positions of IS terrorists both in Shingal and Zumar

+++10:40 am+++ Telephone contact with refugees in the mountains

An eyewitness reported ezidiPress that the refugees´ situation in the mountains has deteriorated dramatically. For four days the refugees have no access to water and food.

“Hundreds of small children and old people have died today. Everything the refugees could take to the mountains has been already consumed. The death toll will deeply rise in the next hours. A disaster is taking place.”

+++10:00 am+++ ezidiPress correspondent about the numbers of victims in the last night: “120 peopled died only in that night. It´s cruel. They all die in droves, have nothing to eat, nothing to drink. It´s just cruel.”

+++09:20 am+++ Further success for Yezidi Protection Unit

The Yezidi Protection Unit led by Qasim Shesho managed to disperse IS terrorists at a location of the Shingal mountains. With that there is another gateway to reach the refugees that are still waiting for the much-need help

+++08:40 am+++ IS terrorists attack the refugees in the mountains

As we have just learned IS terrorists have started to attack the refugees in the mountains. With mortal shells they bomb the thousands of refugees which have the fourth day in a row no access to food and water.

The terrorists systematically surround the refugees and drive them with their mortal shells into a corner.

Many children have died in the night of thirst and hunger. Old and sick people are on the verge of death. There is still no help in sight at many places of the mountain.

+++08:00 Uhr+++ “There are children dying on the mountain, on the roads,” said Marzio Babille, the Iraq representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “There is no water, there is no vegetation, they are completely cut off and surrounded by Islamic State. It’s a disaster, a total disaster.”

Source: Washington Post

+++06:30 am+++ A Yezidi refugee told the British IBT: “Last night (Sunday) they arrested five of my cousins and killed them because they had worked for the township. And now they have begun do destroy the refugees´ houses”

+++05:50 am+++ PressTV , an Iranian state-owned TV channel, interviewed Yezidi refugees in the town of Sharya near Dohuk.

The refugees´ statements:

“Bodies were laying on the ground everywhere. Men dressed in black broke into homes and slaughted people in their houses. They´re barbaric.”

“They have taken daughters and wives. They have used them for three days and have sent us their bodies back with their eyes gouged. Where are the humanitarian organizations?”

“My family is hiding out in Sinjar mountains. My father is 80 years old. They have no food, no water, nothing. What is the international community waiting for?”

+++05:00 am+++ Various public characters from Kurdistan have expressed their solidarity with Shingal, including the Kurdish singer Bilind Ibrahim who said that the “people of Shingal need to be helped”

+++04:10 am+++ Dirk Niebel (Free Democratic Party, FDP), former German Federal Minister of Economic Corporation and Development, expresses his view to the current Shingal crisis via Facebook:

“The so called Islamic State is just going to slaughter the people of the Yezidis, it has already begun with the Christians. Where are the moral guardians and advocates of peace which demonstrated the last weeks against Jews and Israel´s right of self-defense? Why aren’t Lüders and Todenhöfer in Mosul?”

+++02:00 am+++ More and more cases of raped Yezidi women by IS terrorists emerge. Many relatives of Yezidi refugees from Germany reported ezidiPress on rapes of their female relatives.

“We call our relatives in Iraq, when they answer the phone they start to cry and tell us that they have been raped. The IS terrorists are simultaneously standing next to them and listening to the phone call, then they answer “they aren´t your wives and children but ours.”

In another case, a Yezidi girl commited suicide after having been raped by IS terrorists. Previously, her brother had contacted his sister by phone, whereupon the terrorists made fun of the crying girl

+++01:30 am+++ YBS commanders tell ezidiPress that they have mobilized in Syria under the help of YPG forces and armed 1000 additional fighters overnight. Their unit is currently on the way to Shingal, a part of them has already arrived.

Their operation´s aim is to establish a corridor for the refugees in the Shingal mountains

+++01:00 am+++ Several Yezidis burn their KDP membership cards because they hold Peshmerga commanders responsible for the current situation in Shingal

+++01:20 am+++ The Yezidi Protection Unit Qasim Shesho has arrested three terrorists in Shingal. It turns out that the arrested terrorists are Kurdish extremists

6th August

+++22:10 pm+++ Shingal´s Resistance Unit (YBS) has begun to conduct attacks on IS terrorists. Four terrorists were already defanged

+++21:10 pm+++ Yezidi woman on the mountains of Shingal: “I would rather throw myself off cliffs than being raped by IS terrorists

+++21:30 pm+++ Several tons of relief supplies have reached the mountains of Shingal. However, there are still thousands without having access to essentials

+++21:50 pm+++ Yezidi activist Khader Khalat: A pregnant Yezidi woman that was forced to flee to the mountains of Shingal has died during her child´s birth due to severe bleedings. The baby has also died

+++21:10 pm+++ Yezidi woman on the mountains of Shingal: “I would rather throw myself off the cliffs than being raped by IS terrorists

+++20:30 pm+++ Peshmerga commander: “We promise that IS will be dispersed within the next 48 hours from Kurdish ground”

+++20:10 pm+++ Yezidis from Khanasor, longtime friends of our editorial team: “They all are going to die tonight.  We won´t take prisoners. Either they die or we do”

+++20:00 pm+++ Mass protests in Kurdistan. Yezidis are desperate and ask for weapons to defend themselves.

+++19:40 pm+++ We could just reach a refugee in the mountains of Shingal: “The situation is getting worse. We haven´t seen anyone so far. The children are thirsty and hungry. If we don´t get help, we all are going to die

+++19:25 pm+++ UNICEF: 40 children of the Yezidi minority died

+++19:10 pm+++ It is currently very difficult to obtain an overview of the current events in Shingal. Our correspondents are either in battle or try to get to safety and are therefore not always reachable for us. Only the refugees in Duhok and elsewhere are currently reachable.

The Yezidi Protection Unit puts up resistance but it lacks of weapons. The clashes that have erupted in Rabia have also created a new front which cumbers the mobilization of fighters for the major battle in south Shingal where the refugees are.

Many hopes rely on the experienced PKK fighters which are used to operate in mountain chains and could be able to reach the refugees that are excluded from relief supplies. Time is short, hundreds of children are on the verge of dying of thirst. Some of them are virtually cut off for three days from food and water. The death toll rises continuously

+++18:40 pm+++ PKK confirms: Units on the way to Shingal

Several units of the PKK are heading Shingal to support the Yezidis in their fight against the IS

+++18:10 am+++ Current situation: The situation is still incalculable, particularly as new clashes have erupted in Rabia. The town had been taken over by YPG, Peshmerga and Yezidi units before. The Yezidi protection unit needs weapons and ammunition in view of the fact that ammunition is getting short. More and more Yezidis join the Yezidi Protection Unit. Yezidis from Dohuk and Silemani are on the way to the front in Shingal.

In the south of Shingal, in the city and the surroundings, the 10.000 strong Peshmerga Division has surrounded the terrorists. The Peshmerga Division is moving slowly closer to the centre of Shingal.

The refugees in the mountains are partially the third day in a row without necessities. Messages about dead reach us every hour but specifics cannot be made. According to Rudaw more helicopters from Kurdistan are on the way to the refugees

+++18:10 am+++ YPG commander Can Polat: There are again clashes in Rabia

Clashes erupted again between Kurdish forces and IS terrorists in the border town of Rabia which had been taken over by YPG, Peshmerga and Yezidi units before.  A new front means less capacity for the fight in the south where, however, a Peshmerga Division is advancing to

+++18:00 pm+++ Yezidis ready for battle: 30 vehicles on the road

30 vehicles with Yezidis are heading from Dohuk to Rabia where the YPG have assumed control in order to advance to the Yezidi Protection Unit in Shingal. This was told us by refugees from Dohuk. There are ongoing heavy clashes. There is a lack of weapons yet

+++14:00 pm+++ Especially the lack of weapons falters the advance of the Yezidi Protection Unit. The unit is unable to increase its capacity. Months ago, Yezidi leaders called for arming the Yezidis but their calls have been rejected by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

+++13:50 am+++ Phone call with the Yezidi Protection Unit, led by Qasim Shesho in Shingal.

Heavy clashes erupted between the Yezidi Protection Unit and IS terrorists. The Yezidis managed to kill several terrorists and seize both vehicles and weapons of the IS. The clashes take currently place in the village of Shemal. The number of fighters in the Yezidi Protection Unit comes to 3000. Hundreds more Yezidis join the militia but fighters tell us that there is a lack of weapons. The militia has set up a base at the sanctuary of Sherfedin where its fighters mobilize again.

It has also begun to conduct attacks on the village of Borek which is currently under control of IS terrorists

+++12:45 am+++ Contrary to many reports of large news agencies: Shingal is not under the control of YPG and Peshmerga units. It is currently being bombarded with heavy artillery, terrorists are still in the town. But according to the latest eyewitness reports Peshmerga forces from the west, south and east have set in motion to reach Shingal´s north. Yezidi Protection Units are also on the way to the north of Shingal.

The Yezidi Protection Units have first rightly focused on defending the refugees in the mountains, at least for part of. Furthermore, thousands still suffer thirst, hunger and are unprotected. The arriving relief supplies are insufficient and do not reach all refugees in the mountains that are difficult to access.

The IS terrorists proceed in accord with their usual methods. If there are signs of defeat, they begin to slaughter as many civilians as possible

Photo: Rudaw
IS terrorists wearing traditional Kurdish clothes
Photo: Rudaw

+++12:35 am+++ Peshmerga commanders: „We will protect Shingal to the last.”

+++12:10 am+++ IS terrorists wear traditional Kurdish clothes to confuse civilians. This was reported by several news agencies, including Rudaw

+++12:00 am+++ The PKK has not verified that PKK units have arrived in Shingal although this has been claimed by various media reports

+++11:40 am+++ In a statement YPG Commander Can Polat asks both the Yezidi and Muslim youth in South Kurdistan (north Iraq) to join them and participate in their resistance

+++11:20 am+++ We have contacted the PKK and asked if its unit have arrived in Shingal. The answer is still pending

PKK fighters prepare to go to Shingal Photo: Firatnews
PKK fighters prepare to go to Shingal
Photo: Firatnews

+++11:00 am+++ Phone call with the refugees in the mountains: More helicopters have just arrived with relief supplies. Nevertheless, not all refugees are supplied, it is difficult because they are scattered along the mountains

+++10:10 am+++ Rudaw reports that 50.000 Yezidis were forced to seek shelter in the mountains because of the threat posed by the IS. They are protected by armed Yezidis at the foot of the mountain.

Yesterday’s food supplies are not sufficient to supply all refugees

+++09:50 am+++ „The Peshmerga has betrayed and left us on our own devices. There are still 100.000 people in the mountains which die of thirst and hunger. Where are the 10.000 Peshmerga fighters?”, asks the Yezidi activist Anwar Khanasori

+++09:30 am+++ Helpnessless and anger in Shingal. In addition to that, IS terrorists have started to attack the refugees in the mountains, propably to take revenge for the terrorist losses caused by YPG, Peshmerga and Yezidi forces

+++09:10 am+++ „We have never asked for anything or revenge, we have never fought wars, no one attacked, no one offended. But this goes too far. We will take revenge, for each individual that has been killed. Shingal is Yezidi and will remain so. We have lived here for thousands of years, no one could and will be able to defeat us. We will revenge”, a Yezidi soldiers tells us after discovering the bodies of children which died of thirst

+++08:50 am+++ „The IS terrorists kill like savages. We are on the mountain, here is nothing and no one, only the IS. We die of thirst”, says the Yezidi refugee Amin Ilyas

+++08:30 am+++ Yezidi lobby in Russia turns directly to the Russian president Vladimir Putin who is believed to find a solution to the disastrous situation of Yezidi refugees through the United Nations

+++08:05 am+++ Some relief supplies and Kurdish forces reached the refugees in the mountains. However, the mountain chain of Shingal is very broad and difficult to access, this is why the refugees fled to the mountains. In addition, the refugees have not centrally focused on one point and are scattered along the mountains. Thousands more refugees have since two or three days no access to necessities

+++07:50 am+++ Tuesday night: IS terrorists loot houses of Yezidis near the town of Khanasor in north Shingal

+++07:20 am+++ 350 families in the mountains without support. Urgent calls for help from the mountains of Shingal reach us a few minutes ago. 350 families still have no acces to water and food. Many are about to die of thirst.

Merwan Alresam: We are 350 families in the mountains without water and food. The death toll rises because of thirst. Please help us, I am writing this appeal for help near the summit of the mountain. My battery is going to die”

+++07:00 am+++ UN officer Nickolay Mladenov in an interview with the BBC: “Rapid deterioration”, 200.000 Yezidis on the run, the situation of refugees in the mountains is “extremely critical because they lack access to drinking water, food and medicines”. It is a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

“We need to focus on finding ways for an emergency care to supply the refugees with water and medicine.”

+++06:20 am+++ More than 100 Yezidi families abducted by IS

Mohammed al-Khuzai, spokesman of the Iraqi Red Crescent, reported in an interview with the New York Times that  IS terrorists have kidnapped more than 100 Yezidi families to the airport of Tal Afar. The terrorists have killed the men, the women are now probably forced into marriage with IS terrorists.

” The IS has killed all the men and plans to keep the women for jihad marriage,” said Mohammed al-Khuzai.

Muhammad al-Dulaimi, a Yezidi from Shingal, reported the New York Times: “I have witnessed how they have kidnapped these families. They claim that they are infidels and deserve to die. ”

+++05:35 am+++ Solidarity measures for Shingal and Yezidis on Twitter and Facebook unite the Kurdish population. Being left on their own devices by the international community, the Kurds are currently fighting the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) by their own force. Despite the terrorists´ massive territorial successes which threaten the entire Middle East.

Images with stylized peacock symbols  are being posted on Twitter under the hashtag #PeacocksUpForSingal to show solidarity with Shingal. More hashtags are #ShingalSOS, #Shingal

+++04:20 am+++ The Iraqi air force is currently bombing massively terrorist controlled areas south of Shingal. Dozens of terrorists were killed yesterday night when the air force bombed a mosque where IS terrorists had gathered for prayer

+++03:00 am+++ Phone verification: Relief supplies have reached some of the refugees in the mountains

+++02:50 am+++ Many relief supplies from Kurdistan have reached the mountains. Also Yezidis from the north of Shingal have brought food to the mountains. YPG fighters have carved out a path that refugees from the mountains can use to escape to the safer areas. Peshmerga units of the Zerevani brigade are among the refugees, providing them food and water. At this time we cannot confirm if this is true to all the refugees

+++02:00 am+++ For information: The Shingal region consists of hundreds villages und larger communities in which more than 500.000 Yezidis live. The same-named town of Shingal is a major centre similar to a state capital. Many places are still occupied by IS terrorists. The report that Shingal has been recaptured has to be annulled. Although two villages have been liberated near the town of Shingal, clashes still take place in its centre. We want to be sure and are waiting therefore for reports of more correspondents stating that the town will be retaken as quickly as possible

+++01:40 am+++ Osman Baydemir via Twitter: “The one who calls himself a Kurd, whose honor is Shingal”

+++01:30 am+++ According to Yezidi refugees about 45 children died in the last two days in the mountains while being on the run from IS terrorists

The Syriac Military Council (MFS)
The Syriac Military Council (MFS)

+++01:10 am+++ Assyrian militias of the MFS (Mawtbo Fulhoyo Suryoyo) from Rojava (West Kurdistan) have just arrived in Shingal. Together with YPG forces Assyrian forces protect Yezidis in Shingal

+++01:10 am+++ IS terrorists publish pictures of decapitated Yezidis from Shingal

+++01:00 am+++ The Iraqi army bombs several places of Shingal which are occupied by IS terrorists

+++00:30 am+++ Refugees: Arab tribes have supported IS and looted our houses

+++00:20 am+++ Yezidi refugees in Dohuk thank the YPG for helping them to escape and providing fire cover

+++00:15 am+++ Qasim Shesho, commander of the Yezidi Protection Unit, succeeds to arrest several IS terrorists with armed Yezidis

+++00:10 am+++ Yezidi Protection Unit liberates the village Cil Mira and kills the IS terrorist icon Masud

5th August

+++23:50 pm+++ Sime Boseli, Peshmerga commander of the Zerevani brigade who is currently in the mountains of Shingal, confirms that dozens of children and old men died in the mountains due to water and food shortages

+++23:30 pm+++ Relief supplies arrive at the mountains of Shingal via helicopter

+++23:10 pm+++ Special units of the PKK are heading to Shingal and are expected to arrive tonight

+++22:50 pm+++ Yezidis from the north of Shingal are on the way to the south to supply the refugees in the mountains. According to unconfirmed reports Shingal has been almost entirely liberated

The PKK´s Supreme Commander Murat Karayilan
The PKK´s Supreme Commander Murat Karayilan

+++22:50 pm+++ Murat Karayilan, the PKK´s Supreme Commander, in a statement on SterkTV: We will fight against the IS terrorists as long as we can. We won´t allow that a 73rd massacre of Yezidis come to pass

+++22:20 pm+++ Influential Yezidis in Russia to ezidiPress: “We will use our influence to protect our brothers and sisters in Shingal. We are ready to do anything for it.”

Yezidis from Russia to ezidiPress: “We will care for the arming of Yezidis in Iraq. 100 years ago, we fled into exile for the same reasons, we won´t tolerate such a thing again.”

“We have long watched and held us back because we believed we could rely on others. But now the line has been crossed. We will arrange all that is necessary for the defense of Yezidis”, Yezidi lobby in Russia told ezidiPress

+++22:00 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent in Shingal with fighters of the Yezidi Protection Unit: “We won´t leave any terrorist alive, they are demons and a disgrace to humanity. Someone who deliberately kills innocent children deserves no mercy

+++21:50 pm+++ Heavy clashes in Shingal, thousands Yezidis fight alongside the YPG and are out for revenge. In the east, west and south the IS terrorists are surrounded by the Peshmerga, in the north by the YPG. The Iraqi government announced to conduct aerial attacks if the terrorists should gain the upper hand

+++21:05 pm+++ Heyder, Qasim Sehso, Yezidi leader of the Yezidi Protection Unit, wants the Peshmerga commanders that withdrew yesterday for several hours to be called to account. “Shouldn´t they be punished, I´ll take care of it personally”, he told VoiceofAmerica

+++21:00 pm+++ Further major units of YPG and Peshmerga from the north of Shingal are on the way to the disputed areas in the south

+++20:55 pm+++ IS terrorists tried to attack with several of their terror squads the sanctuary of “Sherfedin”. The 3000 Yezidis which protect the sanctuary managed to repel the attack, whereupon the terrorists fled.  700 armed Yezidis from the extended family Pir Avdo fight there for the defense of their homeland and culture

+++20:40 pm+++ Correspondent: Several villages in the north of Shingal have been liberated by YPG and Peshmerga forces. Dozens of IS terrorists were killed and the rest fled

+++20:20 Uhr+++ YPG commander and spokesperson Can Polat to ezidiPress: “With the help and under the protection of YPG tens of thousands Yezidis from Shingal arrived in Rojava and South Kurdistan”

+++20:05 pm+++ Around 10.000 Peshmerga fighters and large units of YPG forces have surrounded the IS terrorists in Shingal. A special unit of the Peshmerga is said to have fought a path to the refugees in the mountains. In the Kurdish town of Silemani and elsewhere thousands of Kurds have provided relief supplies for the people of Shingal. The relief supplies will be distributed by Peshmerga units stationed on site and helicopters to the refugees now

+++19:58 pm+++ Commanders of the Peshmerga army whose soldiers were stationed in Shingal and have withdrawn are said to be called to account. Commanders of the KDP and PUK Peshmerga units accuse each other, see also

+++19:30 pm+++
Number of refugees in total: 250.000
Number of refugees in the mountains: 70.000

The central sanctuary “Sherfedin” is guarded by about 3000 armed Yezidi civilians, another thousands Yezidis have united and formed brigades called Qasim Simer and Qasim Shesho.  The numbers are confirmed by the Religious Council of the Yezidis in Iraq, our local correspondents also confirm these numbers

+++19:10 pm+++ Masud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, announces an investigation to the temporary withdrawal of Peshmerga on 3th August in Shingal

+++19:00 pm+++ According to the ministry for Peshmerga affairs and reports of Rudaw around 10.000 Peshmerga fighters have arrived in Shingal. A large Peshmerga unit is said to have fought a path to the refugees in the mountains

+++18:00 pm+++ The establishment of Shingal´s Resistance Unit YBS has been just announced in Shingal. In an Arabic-language statement, the organization announces its motives and goals. It says that the organization was founded as a response to the broken promises of the Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani who wanted to establish a Peshmerga unit consisting of 600 men after thousands of Yezidis had been dispersed by the IS in Rabia.

“To the people of Shingal,

the circumstances under which we currently live as well as the events in our areas have shown us the importance of self-defense. Circumstances have also shown us that we have to protect ourselves as an organization to prevent attacks that threaten our existence. […]

We have repeatedly pointed to the danger and threat and turned towards all Kurdish parties. So that they can establish a special unit consisting of Yezidis for the defense of Shingal. But our warnings and cries for help went unheeded. […] We have decided to defend ourselves against the terrorists

+++17:20 pm+++ ezidiPress correspondent Shingali: Around 3.000 armed Yezidis protect the sanctuary of Sherfedin in Shingal. They are willing to give their lives for the defense  of Shingal

+++17:15 pm+++ According to PUK media first relief supplies arrived in the mountains of Shingal. The Religious Council of the Yezidis states that half of the Yezidis from Shingal have already fled to the Kurdistan region while the other half is still remaining there

+++17:00 pm+++ Confirmed: YPG fighters dispel IS terrorists from Rabia and take over the town

+++16:55 pm+++ Mir Tahsin Beg, temporal leader of the Yezidis, asks the Kurdish President Masud Barzani to arm the Yezidis, so that they can defend themselves against the IS terrorists. But, according to the Yezidi leader, he has not received an answer so far, “the Yezidis are on their own.”

“The Yezidis are in a bad situation and we want this situation to be resolved. Peshmerga soldiers have to invade these regions to liberate us from this situation, the IS will kill everyone. They behead children, kidnap our women. In general, the situation is very concerning”, says Mir Thasin Beg. Click here for the Kurdish interview

+++16:30 pm+++ Thousands of Yezidi refugees are still waiting in the mountains of Shingal for help. Since yesterday, many of the refugees have not taken in food and drinking water. Our correspondents in Shingal are currently verifying reports on the shelling of refugees by mortar shells of IS

YPG commander Can Polat (in the middle) arrives in Shingal
YPG commander Can Polat (in the middle) arrives in Shingal

+++15:50 pm+++ ezidiPress interviews YPG spokesperson Can Polat: “Some of our units have arrived in Shingal. Our units and armed young men in Shingal are currently fighting with IS. We especially strive to prevent massacres. So far, we have conducted five successful operations against the IS. We want to continue to protect our people.” Polat also states that 6 YPG fighters were killed during clashes in Rabia and south Shingal while dozens of IS terrorists were killed by the YPG. Click here for the short interview

+++15:20 pm+++ The Yezidi journalist Ali Shingali (reporter for Badinan Sat) reported that IS terrorists misuse Yezidi civilians “human shields” after the Iraqi government announced to launch aerial attacks

+++15:00 pm+++ Various Kurdish media consistently report that YPG and Peshmerga forces have retaken control of the border town of Rabia in north Shingal. This would set free new capacities for the fight in south Shingal

+++14:45 pm+++ Residents of Tirpespi and Derik (Rojava / Syria) host refugees from Shingal. The refugees are protected by YPG fighters

+++14:25 pm+++ Ikram Balekani, Nuce TV:  The YPG have begun to open routes for refugees from Shingal to Rojava (North Syria, also known as West Kurdistan). The routes are guarded by YPG fighters

+++14:10 pm+++ 67 Yezidis were executed by IS in Shingal after they refused to convert to Islam. This was reported by the German FAZ referring to eyewitnesses. BasNews speaks of 88 victims

+++14:00 pm+++ Masud Barzani: “We are fighting without the support of the international community against terrorism and will reclaim every inch of Shingal”

+++13.45 am+++ Our correspondents report that the IS terrorist group has carried out a massacre of the civilian population in the Yezidi village of Duhola. Relatives of the victims were trying to reach their relatives by phone but instead IS terrorists answered the phone. The village is situated near the Syrian-Iraqi border town of Rabia where heavy fightings continue to take place between Kurdish forces and IS terrorists

+++13.30 am+++ Wladimir van Wilgenburg via Twitter: Yezidi representatives in Iraq and South Kurdistan demand that aid must be brought to the refugees in the Shingal mountains by the use of helicopters

+++13.20 am+++ The fate of some 2000 inhabitants of the Yezidi village Werdi is uncertain, it is feared that they have been executed by the IS terrorist group. The tribal leader Khalaf Elias reports Rudaw that they had previously been lured back into the village by the IS

+++13.10 am+++ Especially Yezidi infants are afflicted by the lack of food and drinking water in the mountains of Shingal. Our correspondents tell us that many children are already “half-dead”. “If there is no help coming in the next hours, many of these children will die”

+++12.50 am+++ Community leaders of Sheikhan warn: Should the Yezidis in Sheikhan not be rescued within 72 hours, no one is welcome in Sheikhan

+++12.45 am+++ We could just reach one of our correspondents who is among the refugees in the mountains of Shingal. He confirmed the massacre in Ginia Miherkan and speaks of another dozen bodies just outside the village. He also states that the killed Yezidis are villagers which are known to him. The correspondent speaks of a humanitarian emergency: “There is a lack of drinking water. If no help arrives in the coming nights, thousands will die”

+++12.30 am+++ Refugee in the mountains of Shingal: “We haven´t slept, have only a piece of bread to eat. We don´t care about that, but our children are crying due to hunger.” Yesterday 10 children and 5 elderly already died because they had no access to necessities

+++12.10 am +++ Eyewitnesses report ezidiPress correspondents on a massacre of Yezidi civilians in Shingal. According to this the civilians were heading last night to the village Ginia Miherkan via secret paths to get drinking water for the refugees in the mountains. When they reached the village, they found 53 bodies, another 30 were found outside the village. After having been spotted by IS terrorists, they fled without being able to identify the bodies

+++12.00 am+++ An urban war has begun in the same-named city of Shingal between Kurdish forces and IS terrorists. The city was surrounded by YPG and Peshmerga units, a Kurdish special unit then stormed the city itself. The surrounding villages that IS has taken over the day before are still under terrorist control

+++11.55 am+++ According to the Yezidi politician Dr. Mirza Dinnayi 20 Yezidi children which have been on the run died. The number of refugees has gone to about 300.000

+++11.40 am+++ In the north of Shingal, on the Iraqi-Syrian border town of Rabia, YPG and Peshmerga units achieve first military successes. Successes in Rabia set free new capacities that are urgently needed in south Shingal

+++11.30 am+++ Despite massive battles and the use of heavy artillery in the night, the south of Shingal is still under the control of IS. The Food and Agriculture Organization (of the United Nations) announced to provide food to the afflicted regions. The lives of more than 10.000 Yezidi refugees which still remain on the mountains remains vulnerable. The UN speaks of a “humanitarian tragedy”

Yezidi refugees from Shingal
Yezidi refugees from Shingal

+++03:00 Uhr+++ Yezidi refugees from Shingal sleep on the ground

+++02:30 am+++ Refugee from Shingal to one of our correspondents: “If the YPG wouldn´t be here, we would be all dead now”

+++02:25 am+++ Peshmerga units bombard the IS terrorists with heavy artillery in Shingal

+++01:45 am+++ A resident of Shingal told us that 5 girls of his family have been kidnapped by IS terrorists. The oldest girl is 15 years old

Children killed during an ISIS assault
Children killed during an ISIS assault

+++01:30 am+++ IS terrorists kill two children in an attack on a civilian vehicle in Shingal whose inmates wanted to escape to safety

+++01:20 am+++ Bewilderment. Due to an intense heat and the lack of food and water 10 Yezidi children and 5 elderly died in the mountains. More dozens of children and especially old men are supposed to be in a bad state, reported Rudaw

+++00:40 am+++ And again a confirmation of one of our correspondents in Shingal: They are standing in front of the shrine “Sherfedin” which has not been destroyed. However, extremists of IS have already destroyed other pilgrimage sites of Shiites and Yezidis  in Shingal

+++00:4o am+++ IS leadership: If the Yezidis do not convert to Islam, we will kill them all

4th August

+++23:28 pm+++ Hundreds Yezidis armed themselves in Bashiq and Bahzan (Sheikhan region) to defend their towns. A large part of the population fled to the north  after the terrorists of IS came closer and had previously taken over five villages in Babire. At the moment refugees from Shingal are housed in Lalish valley and the surrounding villages. Nevertheless, thousands are still trapped in the mountains of Shingal

+++22:35 pm+++ The Kurdish politician Amina Said calls on the government in Baghdad, the Kurdish government as well as humanitarian aid organizations to support the Yezidi refugees in Shingal. ”A majority of people, especially the destitutes, cannot leave the town which is under IS control now”

+++22:15 pm+++ Reports about massacres of the Yezidi civilian population in the regions of Shingal rise. Dozens of women and children were allegedly massacred alone near Til Benat by IS terrorists. The situation is still quite unclear

+++22:00 pm+++ The Yezidis´ Religious Concil confirms abductions of Yezidi women in Shingal and calls for additional reinforcement in the threatened areas. There is still no trace of the missing 100 girls. Moreover, a humanitarian disaster is going to occur: the fightings in Shingal are ongoing while the refugees in the mountains are left to their own devices

+++20:05 pm+++ Representatives of the Yezidis meet in these hours with the President of the Kurdish autonomous region Masud Barzani to discuss possible solutions to the current crisis. The American Embassy was contacted and has indicated its willingness to provide aid

+++20:00 pm+++ Thousands of refugees face temperatures around 40 degrees without having essentials. “We, the elder ones, withstand this for a day but our children scream and cry”, said a Yezidi mother in tears

+++19:10 pm+++ IS terrorists blow up a Yezidi pilgrimage site in Shingal. However, this is not the sancturay  ”Sherfedin”although there are new reports claiming it has been blown up by IS. Click here for the video

+++19:05 pm+++ Refugees which are currently located near Sheikhan report that about 100 Yezidi girls and young women from Shingal are being missed since the IS terrorists´onslaught on the town

+++19:00 pm+++ Yezidis from Bashiq, Bahzan and Khetar in Sheikhan now also start to flee from their homes due to imminent attacks by the IS terrorists

+++18:10 pm+++ Yezidis from the region of Shariya consent to fight against the IS terrorists in Shingal. Especially Yezidis from Babire have fled to Shariya after IS terrorists attacked the town with mortar shells and finally took over the control

+++18:00 pm+++ The report according to which the sanctuary “Sherfedin” has been destroyed by IS terrorists is incorrect. The sanctuary is still standing. This was told us by Yezidis in the immediate vicinity of the pilgrimage site

+++17:40 pm+++ Salih Muslim, Co-Chairman of the PYD, via Twitter: “The defense of Shingal and the Yezidis´ culture is the task of all Kurdistanis, it is a day of honor and pride”

+++17:20 pm+++ According to a UN report around 200.000 people are on the run, the majority of them are Yezidis from Shingal and Sheikhan

+++16:35 pm+++ IS terrorists have taken over the village complex of Babire (five villages) near Sheikhan. The Yezidis´ fear that IS extremists might advance to their central sanctuary Lalish is not unreasonable

+++16:25 pm+++ According to Gali Kurdistan TV IS terrorists have destroyed the Yezidi sanctuary “Sherfedin” in Shingal. However, our local correspondents cannot confirm this yet

+++16:15 pm+++ Major offensive of YPG and Peshmerga units has just begun. Thousands of armed Yezidis join the operation to defend their homeland

The governor of Mosul
The governor of Mosul

+++15:30 pm+++ Yezidi children which have fled from Shingal tell our correspondent in Dohuk about the arrival of IS terrorists in Shingal: “They killed Peshmerga soldiers in front of our eyes. They shot them in the head. We were afraid and fled”

+++15:25 pm+++ IS leaders give YPG and Peshmerga units an ultimatum  of two hours to withdraw without a fight from the Mosul Dam, Shingal and Rabia. Otherwise IS threatens to launch a large-scale offensive

The IS spreads its terror Shingal
The IS spreads its terror over Shingal

+++15:15 pm+++ The governor of Mosul appeals to the international community: ”In the next few hours thousands of Yezidis will be massacred, starve or die of thirst if we do not act. Thousands are in the hands of the IS murderers, several thousands have fled without food or water to the mountains”

+++14:40 pm+++ The news agency Xendan reports that IS terrorists massacre over 30 Yezidis in Shingal

+++14:15 pm+++ IS terrorists attack Yezidis near Sheikhan: Due to a lack of sophisticated weapons Peshmerga fighters were inferior to IS terrorists and ceased the combat operations. The Yezidi residents fled to Sharya and Duhok. Meanwhile the IS has announced to dispel all Yezidis from Shingal until tonight

+++14:05 pm+++ The ministry for Peshmerga affairs announces a military intervention for the liberation of Shingal

+++14:00 pm+++ IS terrorists take over Yezidi pilgrimage sites

+++13:45 am+++ Our correspondents from Shingal report about the killing of the civilian population: “Many Yezidis have been killed in Siba Sheikh Khidir because they did not give up their village and continued to fight even after the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces. They fought till the end.”

+++13:40 am+++ IS terrorists capture men and youths in Shingal. At the same time YPG spokesman Can Polat announces to deploy more YPG forces in Shingal.  Thousands of Yezidis fight for the liberation of their towns and villages. More and more Yezidis advance from the north to the south

+++13:35 am+++ Reports of destroyed Shiite shrines arrive: The tomb of Sayid Zaynab was completely destroyed by IS terrorists

Yezidi refugees seek shelter in the mountains
Yezidi refugees seek shelter in the mountains

+++13:00 am+++  Following the destruction of a Shiite shrine in Shingal, IS terrorists are now aiming for Yezidi pilgrimage sites. Meanwhile, the terrorists spread their terror over Shingal

+++12:30 am+++ Thousands of Yezidis are still on the run. Yezidi refugees from Shingal seek shelter in the mountains of Sinjar. Without having access to drinking water, food and shelter, children, women and old men have to keep calm in fear to be not discovered and killed by IS. In the meantime the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany releases a press statement in which it calls the international community to intervene

+++12:20 am+++ Initial reports about massacres of Yezidi civilians reach us, claiming that several Yezidis have been killed by IS terrorists in Til Aziz. A verification by our local correspondents is currently impossible

IS terrorists in Shingal
IS terrorists in Shingal

+++11:55 am+++ Heavy clashes take place at the border town of Rabia, where YPG and Peshmerga forces fight together against IS terrorists. Shingal is now attacked from both the north and south. As the result Rabia´s residents flee to areas of Shingal which are not occupied yet

+++11:25 am+++ There is already a shortage of drinking water and food for toddlers. Because they were forced to leave their homes on the spur of the moment, the Yezidi refugees from Shingal had no way to carry food

+++11:10 am+++ IS terrorists begin to destroy holy sanctuaries of Shiites and Yezidis

+++10:30 am+++ First major units of YPG and Peshmerga arrive at the disputed territories in the south of Shingal.   More fighters are on the way. Battles now take place on several fronts

+++10:00 am+++ The IS marches towards the town of Shingal, Yezidi civilians skirmish with them. Desperately, women, children and old men are trying to escape. Yezidi men bring their families to safety and return to the clashes. In the north, YPG (People’s Protection Units) and Peshmerga units mobilize in order to go to the rescue

Armed Yezidi civilians in Khanasor
Armed Yezidi civilians in Khanasor

+++09:00 am+++ IS terrorists take over the villages Til Benat, Siba Sheikh Khidir, Til Keseb and Til Aziz. Thousands of Yezidis flee from their villages to the north of Shingal and try to seek shelter in the mountains. Yezidi civilians provide the refugee flows fire cover

+++07:30 am+++ Peshmerga units withdraw from the disputed areas. Only armed Yezidi civilians continue to resist. Panic spreads over the afflicted  villages, it is certain that the Yezidis will not be able to put up further resistance with their own combat power

+++05:30 am+++ The IS terrorists are gaining the upper hand. The much-needed help by Peshmerga backup is absent

+++01:30 am+++ Terrorists of the Islamic State (IS) attack the Yezidi village Siba Sheikh Khidir and the surrounding villages. Armed Yezidi civilians and Peshmerga fighters stationed on site resist for several hours

3rd August