“Masoud Barzani plans to exterminate Yazidis”

"The Cradle", a media outlet focused on West Asian affairs and active in both Arabic and English, released a comprehensive report outlining the role of the Barzani family, led by Masoud Barzani, and his government in the violent attack on the Yazidi population in Şengal by ISIS mercenaries on August 3, 2014.

The report, published just before the 10th anniversary of the genocide, claims that other parties indirectly supported ISIS during its years of expansion and control over large areas in Syria and Iraq. The report states:

"It is widely known that the ISIS campaign to slaughter, enslave, and rape thousands of Yazidis in the Şengal region of Iraq in August 2014 constitutes genocide. However, a lawsuit currently under consideration in Washington, D.C. District Court in the United States alleges that the massacre was orchestrated by Masoud Barzani, using ISIS as a proxy."

Planned genocide

Many Yazidis from Şengal who spoke to "The Cradle" affirmed Barzani's responsibility for the genocide. Among them is Mirza Ismail, president of the International Yazidi Human Rights Organization, who testified before the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament. Ismail told "The Cradle" that "the Yazidi genocide was premeditated, and Masoud Barzani planned the genocide to establish an Islamic state in Kurdistan."

Barzani’s role is confirmed through a careful review of the Kurdish security forces’ behavior, the Peshmerga, before and during the ISIS attack in August 2014. Despite pledging to protect the Yazidis in Şengal to the "last drop of blood," the Peshmerga enabled ISIS to kill thousands of Yazidi men, enslave thousands of Yazidi women, and displace hundreds of thousands. Ten years later, Barzani’s role as the orchestrator of the Yazidi genocide remains largely unknown, except among the survivors themselves.

Peshmerga's promise to defend Şengal

Before the genocide in August 2014, fear among Yazidis about an ISIS attack on Şengal had been escalating for months.

In January, ISIS began its blitz campaign to seize territories in eastern Syria and western Iraq. Mirza Ismail told "The Cradle" that after ISIS killed Yazidi farmers in the town of Rabia in May, "we knew something was going to happen to us."

After ISIS captured Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in June with Masoud Barzani’s assistance, the situation became more alarming. Suddenly, the group besieged Şengal from three directions: from the town of Baaj in the south, from Tal Afar and Mosul in the east, and from Syria in the west. The only escape route from Şengal was north towards the Syrian border crossing, and then to the city of Duhok in S. Kurdistan.

Many Yazidis were certain that ISIS would attack Şengal, but local officials from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Barzani assured them there was no cause for concern because the Peshmerga would defend them. Journalist Christine van den Toorn wrote in *The Daily Beast* that, Sarbast Babiri, head of the KDP branch 17 in Şengal, boasted, "We will defend Şengal to the last drop of blood."

Peshmerga prevents Yazidis from leaving Şengal

However, amidst the looming threat from ISIS, the Peshmerga shockingly refused to allow Yazidis to flee Şengal. One Şengal resident told "The Cradle" that when he felt scared and tried to escape with his family to the Iraqi Kurdish region on August 1, just two days before the ISIS attack, the Peshmerga forces stopped them at a checkpoint, telling them, “We received orders from Barzani not to allow any residents to escape.” Some who defied the Peshmerga’s orders were shot. He added that he was forced to hand over his weapon to a local Peshmerga base, as "we had trusted that they would protect us."

Disarming the Yazidis

An Yazidi source from Şengal told "The Cradle" that Peshmerga forces moved from house to house, confiscating weapons from Yazidis, including heavy arms carried by Yazidi members of the Iraqi army who had brought them to Şengal after the army’s collapse in Mosul.

American writer and Kurdish human rights activist Amy Beam reported that the Peshmerga seized Yazidi weapons, noting that "some believe the presence of the Peshmerga was to control them, not to protect them, as no Peshmerga bases were established in the neighboring Arab villages."

Christine van den Toorn confirmed that the KDP led by Barzani attempted to prevent Yazidis from escaping Şengal, citing a local KDP official who said, “Senior party officials instructed party representatives to control the population and threatened to cut their salaries if people left their areas.”

Peshmerga refuses to arm Yazidis

Due to their lack of trust in the Peshmerga, Yazidis who had served in the Iraqi army requested the return of the heavy weapons seized by Kurdish forces. Qasim Shesho, a Yazidi commander in the Peshmerga's 17th branch, pleaded with his Kurdish superiors for several months, even up until the night before the ISIS attack, to provide weapons to the Yazidis so they could help defend Şengal.

However, Saeed Kistai, the commander of Peshmerga forces in Şengal, expressed his anger at Shesho's requests, saying: "We did not come here to give our weapons to anyone. As long as we have a drop of blood in us, no one will enter Şengal."

Orders to withdraw

When ISIS attacked Şengal early the next day, on August 3, Peshmerga forces withdrew 10,000 of their troops to Kurdistan without prior notice. Qasim Shesho stated that the Peshmerga leadership "fled before any civilians did." Due to the simultaneous withdrawal of Peshmerga forces from all fronts, ISIS was able to attack Şengal from all directions and massacre and enslave as many Yazidis as possible.

Peshmerga lies and promises assistance

The Peshmerga not only failed to warn the Yazidis of the impending ISIS attack before withdrawing but also deceived them by asking them not to flee because reinforcements were on the way. Yazidis who initially resisted ISIS with the few weapons they had recounted "stories of contacting friends and officials from the KDP and Peshmerga who assured them that support was coming, but it never did. In reality, Peshmerga and KDP members had already withdrawn," according to Christine van den Toorn.

Since many Yazidi fighters remained in their positions in various parts of Şengal awaiting the promised reinforcements, ISIS killed about 200 of them.

Peshmerga kills Yazidis who wanted to fight ISIS

In the village of Sur awa, not only did Kurdish fighters withdraw, but they also killed three Yazidi members of the Peshmerga: Iyad Nayef Murad, Yusuf Jabal, and Ali Jabal, after they requested their Kurdish commander to leave them the weapons so they could defend the village.

Regarding the incident, Iraq expert Joel Wing wrote that "when Yazidi Peshmerga members saw their unit preparing to leave, they told their leaders they would stay to defend their villages and requested weapons. This led to a scuffle, resulting in the death of three Yazidi Peshmerga members." Wing added that "the Kurdish decision allowed ISIS to besiege the southern villages and then take control of the rest of the area after overcoming the villagers armed with light weapons."

A relative of one of the three Yazidi men told "The Cradle" that before the fighting broke out, the Peshmerga commander said he had orders from the highest levels not to give any weapons to the Yazidis.

Peshmerga blockades Yazidis

In another case, Peshmerga fighters prevented Yazidis from fleeing to Mount Şengal, enabling ISIS fighters to capture over 1,000 of them.

In her testimony before the British Parliament, Salwa Khalaf Rashu, a 16-year-old Yazidi girl, said that when she tried to flee with her family to the mountain, “a Peshmerga checkpoint stopped us from continuing on our way.” When they took a longer route to the mountain, “a Peshmerga convoy with its leader Sarbast Babiri and his soldiers pointed their guns at us and threatened us,” telling Salwa and her family, “Get off the road so the Peshmerga convoy can flee first and reach the mountain.” After the Peshmerga convoy left, “one of the vehicles broke down and blocked the road, causing a traffic jam. We were waiting. During this time, ISIS terrorists arrived and surrounded us.”

Salwa was enslaved and raped for eight months by an ISIS leader before she managed to escape.

A video shows that the vehicle causing the traffic jam was not civilian, but a military vehicle of the Peshmerga. Mirza Ismail confirmed that the Peshmerga deliberately trapped the Yazidis by blocking the road. He told “The Cradle”, "They put the vehicle in the road and said it was broken down. Then they told the people to turn back. ISIS mercenaries were behind them, and many were captured. My family was there but managed to escape. Two of my cousins were there.”

Peshmerga joining ISIS

A Yazidi woman told “The Cradle” that while she and her brother were fleeing on foot towards the mountain, she saw some Peshmerga members joining ISIS. She added, “Behind a larger hill, we saw three Peshmerga vehicles. We could see how the Peshmerga members took off their uniforms and put on black ISIS clothing. I was shocked. I don’t know how many there were, but there were many.”

A Yazidi lawyer who documented the testimonies of genocide survivors told “The Cradle”, “I have over 500 testimonies, and everyone says the same thing: the Peshmerga betrayed us. Many saw Peshmerga members joining ISIS, and they said the first shots came from the Peshmerga. The initial killings were carried out by the Peshmerga.”

Barzani shelters ISIS leaders

After the genocide, some ISIS members fled to the Kurdistan region under Barzani’s influence. Prominent Kurdish activist Qader Nader stated that, following the Yazidi genocide, ISIS leaders close to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were residing in the regional capital, Hawler, under the protection of the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Barzani, who provided them with safe apartments and generous salaries.

For example, Yazidis discovered that ISIS leader Salah Mustafa Qurbash, who helped lead the genocide, was later living in Hawler. Yazidis recognized Qurbash from a TV interview he gave during the August 2014 attack, where he justified taking Yazidi women as sex slaves and called on Yazidis to either convert to Islam or be killed.

In 2017, Qurbash appeared on a TV station funded by the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Hawler, where he expressed his support for the referendum called by Barzani for Kurdish independence, describing it as a step towards establishing an Islamic state.

Why did Barzani orchestrate the genocide?

Before and during the genocide, Masoud Barzani’s Peshmerga forces besieged, disarmed, deceived, and abandoned the Yazidis. The betrayal by the Peshmerga allowed ISIS to slaughter and enslave thousands of Yazidi men, women, and children, while hundreds of thousands were forced to flee from Şengal.

But why did Barzani use the Peshmerga to perpetrate a genocide against the Yazidis in partnership with ISIS?

A Yazidi from Şengal explained to “The Cradle” Barzani's motives, stating that “Kurdish Muslims are not the original inhabitants of Şengal, but they want to seize it. They take over the land, then build mosques, kill some people, control the land, and try to force people to convert to Islam.”

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