Shafaq News– Duhok

Yazidi leaders in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Sunday warned that intensifying fighting in northern Syria could repeat the 2014 Sinjar catastrophe, urging an immediate halt to hostilities.

In August 2014, ISIS overran Sinjar, the homeland of the Yazidi ethno-religious minority, in a coordinated assault launched from Iraq and Syria that encircled the area. In the days that followed, the group killed or abducted an estimated 12,000 Yazidis.

Speaking at a press conference in Duhok, Yazidi Spiritual Council spokesman Karim Suleiman revealed that Yazidi leader Prince Hazim Tahseen Beg is working to prevent a new disaster by coordinating with the Kurdistan Regional Government, Baghdad, and international actors.

“War brings nothing but destruction,” Suleiman added, stressing that the wounds of Sinjar have yet to heal and must not be repeated.

Separately, Hussein Al-Qaidi, head of the Yazidi Kidnapping Rescue Office in the Region, cautioned of mounting risks to Yazidi women and children still held in Syria’s Al-Hol camp, which houses thousands of ISIS-linked families. He told Shafaq News that some families fled the camp after Syrian army forces entered the area, raising fears that ISIS affiliates could escape with Yazidi captives.

Fighting has intensified in northern and northeastern Syria in recent weeks between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, despite a ceasefire. The United Nations has also warned that renewed clashes could deepen the humanitarian crisis and destabilize camps and prisons holding tens of thousands of civilians and suspected militants.

Read more: As the ninth anniversary approaches.. will Sinjar’s nightmare come to an end?