As the Yazidi community marks the anniversary of the 2014 ISIS attack on Sinjar, many families continue to search for their abducted relatives, with renewed appeals for international assistance. According to a report by Shafaq News, the suffering remains deeply felt across Yazidi camps and communities in northern Iraq.
Um Barzan, a mother from Sinjar, has spent more than ten years searching for her missing son. “We’re desperate for international help to find out what happened to Barzan,” she told Shafaq News.
In the Sharya displacement camp near Duhok, Khdeida Musto shared his ongoing ordeal. According to Shafaq News, he said, “ISIS abducted my wife and four children while I was away from home. We’ve since found my daughter, wife, and three of my children, but one is still missing. We’re not giving up.”
Other survivors, like Bahar, are still grappling with the trauma of captivity. Shafaq News quoted her as saying, “ISIS held me and my children for nearly two years. I was freed, but my husband and six relatives remain unaccounted for. We just want to know if they’re alive.”
Hussein al-Qaidi, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Office for Kidnapped Yazidis, stated that 3,590 survivors have been rescued so far, but more than 2,550 individuals are still missing. He added that search efforts are ongoing with support from Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, according to Shafaq News.
The Yazidi community continues to be among the most severely affected by ISIS atrocities. According to Shafaq News, more than 200,000 Yazidis remain displaced, many living in camps with limited access to essential services. Those who have returned to Sinjar face slow reconstruction efforts and a lack of basic infrastructure.
Despite the passage of time, Yazidi families remain united in their call for answers, justice, and the safe return of those still missing.
