Abdullah Shirin, an ethnic Yazidi whose relatives were held hostage by the terrorists, told Sputnik about how he participated in a rescue operation organized by the Kurdish forces.
"So far, I saved 334 people. Daesh terrorists kidnapped many of my relatives and there are still about 26 members of my family in their hands. Thousands of Yazidis were abducted during the massacre perpetrated by Daesh in Sinjar. The majority of those taken hostage are women and children. I decided to join the ranks of rescue teams as a volunteer," Shirin narrated his story.
According to Shirin, no one except for representatives of Iraqi Kurdistan did anything to liberate the Yazidi prisoners from the terrorists.
"Europe, which speaks of its commitment to human rights, and the coalition forces led by the US did nothing. No one has done anything except the government of Iraqi Kurdistan. I managed to save 334 people thanks to the help of my friends. Many of them were in Syria. I used to be in trade in Aleppo, I had connections with many Syrian traders. With their help, we saved people," the man said
Another Yazidi man, Huseyin Bozan revealed to Sputnik how Daesh kidnapped his three sons, two daughters and 35 other relatives.
"Immediately after Daesh attacked our village, we grabbed the children and tried to run away by car. My brother and his family also were with us. But near the village of Sinone, the terrorists on five pickups barred our way and took us hostage. We begged them to let us go, but they didn't even think about it," the man said.
Bozan said that he and his family were first brought to Sinjar, and then all of them were divided into two groups: men were separated from women and children.
"Three of my sons were sent to one place, two daughters — to another, and me and my wife, because we are elderly people, were forced to go to the third. After a week of being in captivity, I managed to escape. My wife was released because she was very old. For some time, I didn't know anything about my three sons and two daughters. One of them is 17, and the other is just 7. A few months ago, my youngest daughter was rescued in Raqqa, and the eldest — in Mosul. I can't describe how happy I was when I could embrace them. But my three sons are still in Daesh hands, and I'm waiting for their release. We heard that the terrorists killed them, but we do not want to believe in it," the man told Sputnik.
Sputnik also had a chance to interview the 9-year-old Yazidi [anonymity requested]. She was rescued during the operation to liberated Raqqa.
"When we were in Daesh captivity, the militants made us watch videos where they killed people. By showing us these videos, they tried to intimidate us. They said that they kill those who give any information to the Peshmerga fighters. I saw with my own eyes how they killed a woman right in the middle of the street in Raqqa stubbing her with a knife in her chest," the girl said.
Daesh has been carrying out attacks against the Yazidi minority group in both Syria and Iraq since August 2014.
The latest UN estimates show that thousands of Yazidi men and boys remain missing. Meanwhile thousands of women and children still remain subject to horrific violence.
