Shengal Autonomous Council calls for return of displaced Yazidis

The Shengal Autonomous Council called on the Yazidis living in camps since the ISIS genocide to return. In a statement on the fire that broke out yesterday in the Sheriya refugee camp near Duhok, the Autonomous Council said: “The people of Shengal do not belong in camps or in other countries. Their place and home is Shengal. It is time to return to Shengal for a dignified and free life.”

Regarding the fire, the Council said that 400 tents were completely burned. Six people were slightly injured, about 1000 people from 184 families have been left homeless. “We wish the injured a speedy recovery and want them to know that we are by their side with all means at our disposal.”

According to the Autonomous Council, about 12,000 Yazidis who fled ISIS in 2014 are still living in 17 different camps. The statement pointed to the poor living conditions in the camps and the high suicide rate, saying,

“The responsibility for solving these problems lies with the respective government of the area where the camp is located. Thousands of Yazidis are currently living in camps controlled by the KDP. The KDP is not fulfilling its responsibility. It should allow these people to return to Shengal. On the contrary, it is making efforts to keep them in camps.”

The Shengal Council also called on the UN to take the initiative. Shengal is now free, it said, so there is no point in continuing to lock up the fled people in camps. Fleeing abroad is also not a solution. Instead, the refugees must be allowed to return home, it added.