Turkey remembers 2014 Ezidi massacre in Iraq

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Consulate General in Erbil commemorated on Tuesday Ezidi people massacred in northern Iraq by the Daesh terror group, also known as ISIS, in 2014.

"The Daesh/ISIS terror group committed an inhumane massacre against the Ezidi community seven years ago. Today, we remember the suffering wrought on the Ezidis by the Daesh/ISIS terror," the consulate said on Twitter to mark the seventh anniversary of the killings.

Ezidis, who were forced to leave their homes due to the atrocities by Daesh terrorists, are still unable return because of the "brutal" PKK terrorist organization now occupying the region, it said.

The PKK persecution in the region must end, asserted the consulate.

In mid-2014, Daesh/ISIS overran roughly one-third of Iraq, including Mosul which it took as its main stronghold.

It also captured Sinjar, where it is accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the local Ezidi population.

By late 2017, the Iraqi army -- with the help of the US-led military coalition -- recovered most if not all the territories lost to the terrorist group.

The PKK terror organization managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Yazidi community from the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

Some 450,000 Yazidis fled Sinjar after Daesh/ISIS took control of the region.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is its Syrian branch.