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Sinjar (Shengal) is facing the threat of being closed off by means of a concrete wall at the Rojava border and wire fences between Yazidi and Arab villages. The Sinjar Autonomous Council Co-Chair Xezal Reşo has called attention to the potential threats it may pose, reports ANF News.
The “73rd decree” had taken place in Sinjar, as they call it, due to the ISIS attack in 2014, ‘decree’ meaning ‘massacre’ in the Yazidi language.
Once again, there have been systematic attacks in this region after the “Shengal Agreement” was signed between Ankara, Erbil (Hewlêr) and Baghdad.
Construction of wall at the border has started
The mobilization of Iraqi forces around Shengal is escalating. A wall, which is being built under the pretext of protecting the border, has begun construction between Sinjar (Shengal) and Rojava to disconnect the two regions. And once again, there have been attempts to disconnect the Yazidi and Arab villages by building wire fences in-between. Reactions from the people have caused the installation of the fences to be postponed for now.
However, the construction of a concrete wall between Sinjar and Rojava has begun. The plan is to build a wall that is 250 kilometres long and 3 meters high.
Yazidis had escaped a worse massacre in 2014 fleeing through Rojava border
Xezal Reşo, Sinjar Autonomous Council Co-Chair has drawn attention to potential threats. Reminding that they had escaped an even worse massacre in 2014 when ISIS attacked Sinjar and the Yezidis by fleeing through the Rojava border, she said: “Now those borders are being closed completely. This is a threat for all residents and first of all for the Yezidi people. Again there are attempts to disconnect the Yezidi and Arab people.”
Reşo has pointed out that the reason for the wall could not be for protecting borders and that if they really wanted to protect the borders, security should be improved in all borders not only in Sinjar.
We want to live on our land freely, not under siege
She said: “They want to surround Sinjar. The Iraqi government is not implementing this plan alone, they are doing it in cooperation with the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP.” Drawing attention to the fact that ISIS is organizing, not in Sinjar but within the interior regions of Iraq, Reşo said they would do the best they could to prevent the construction of a wall and that the Sinjar people wanted to live on their land freely, not under siege. She said: “Our people should know, this wall cannot protect them. Our people have to stand up to the construction of such a wall. Those protecting the borders let ISIS to pass into our region. This is a dirty plan but they cannot trick our people.”
