Three fighters of the Sinjar (Şengal) Resistance Units (YBŞ) have been injured in an attack by the Iraqi Army in Sinjar city, Iraqi Kurdistan, on the night of Tuesday-Wednesday. After the incident, the Iraqi army increased its presence in Sinjar, while local Yazidi people are taking to the streets to protest against the attack.
The three fighters were in their car when they were surrounded and shot at by Iraqi soldiers in Sinjar city. All three were injured, and one was taken to hospital where he remains in critical condition, according to YBŞ’s press office. A state of emergency was declared in the city following the incident.
On Wednesday, a number of Yazidis tried to enter Sinjar city centre in a convoy to protest against the attack, but were stopped by the Iraqi military, who blocked the roads and made a show of their weapons to intimidate people. The people then entered the city on foot. The situation remains chaotic, according to local media.
The Sinjar Resistance Units and Sinjar Women’s Units (YJŞ) were founded after ISIS’s 2014 genocide against the Yazidi community. The attack on three YBŞ members came just hours after the broadcast of a call by imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan to the Yazidi people, in which he urged them to take an active role in organising themselves to ensure their survival and their autonomy, and stressed the need for Yazidi women to take a leading role in organising the community’s self-defence.
