KNK Executive Council press statement
18 August 2014
ISIS continues massacres in Kurdistan
In Koco village nearly 600 civilians were shot and buried
A few days ago the international media reported that 80 civilian Yezidis (Ezidi) were killed by ISIS in the village of Koco near Sinjar following the invasion from ISIS. Recently 3 Yezidis arrived on Mount Sinjar surviving this massacre badly wounded and explained that nearly 600 civilians have lost their lives in the massacre. An equal number of women and children were kidnapped while women were traded as sex-slaves at various markets.
According to the three survivors, ISIS gangs arrived in the village on August 15, where they were rounded up along with elderly people from nearby villages and brought to an area 2 kilometres away. Here they were shot one by one. While they themselves were wounded and survived by hiding under corpses of people, they managed to escape from the area. Also, ISIS executed the civilians who refused to convert to Islam.
The survivors described the savagery they had witnessed: “First they forced us to convert to Islam. As we refused they gave us time till Sunday. Then they collected all civilians and took our money, phones, gold, and whatever people had. All men were transported in cars to outside the village and executed. We do not know what they did to our women or children…”
Ever since ISIS entered the area, thousands of people fled to the top of Mount Sinjar, where dozens of children have lost their lives following hunger and dehydration, and still thousands are waiting for help. But neither USA, UN nor EU governments have provided serious humanitarian help and their support remains totally inadequate. The only forces active in protecting and guiding the civilians to safe areas are Kurdish defense forces, i.e. YPG, HPG and YBS. These joint Kurdish forces are engaged in the fight against ISIS with their limited artillery while simultaneously providing humanitarian help to the civilians.
As of now, nearly 400.000 Yezidi Kurds, 100.000 Keldanis, more than 500.000 Arabs, Turkmen and Shia Kurds have escaped the ISIS in Mosul, Telafer and Sinjar and sought asylum in KRG and Western Kurdistan (Rojava, Syria).
We call upon UN to urgently provide all means of help to all IDPs in Rojava and KRG and open offices in these areas.
In Mosul and Sinjar, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Turkmen, Kurdish Yezidis, Kakai, Shias, and Shabaks lived together peacefully. Today all these communities and religions are suffering in horrific conditions, where life has become unbearable under the threat of fatwas issued by ISIS. Wherever ISIS is invading, watching TV, women’s right to work, and even playing football is banned. This is a shame for the world and the entire humanity.
PS: 3 villagers (Xelef Xwedêda, İlyas Salih Qasim and Xidir Hesen Ehmed) rescued by PKK fighters were sent for treatment to Western-Kurdistan (Rojava, Syria)
Kurdistan National Congress — KNK
