ISIS “ethnic cleansing”

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.

 

Many refugees have escaped certain death at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS, its acronym in English) in the mountains of Sinjar. Upon arrival to the lands north of Iraq and into safe grounds, many’s lives are still in danger from lack of humanitarian aid. Thousands of people are without shelter, without water and without food in cities like Kocho or Zakho, where researchers at Amnesty International (AI) Donatella Rovera have found that “local charity” is the only assistance to those who’re displaced.

“This humanitarian crisis has now begun, with the migration of thousands of  Yazidis in Sinjar Mountains fleeing ISIS, but in June, with the entry of ISIS in Mosul problems worsen. Humanitarian assistance should be organized,” complains the adviser of the Crisis international human rights organization.

The highly publicized laid launch from planes or helicopters has not reached the most needy, showing its ineffectiveness. Therefore, Amnesty International calls “a concerted response from the international community to assist hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Iraq.”

“People fleeing the mountains of Sinjar are outdoors, on roads, without assistance from local authorities or international organizations,” Rovera complaint in a telephone interview.  Schools and sports are full of refugees from the previous wave, two months ago, when SI took the city of Mosul and caused the flight of over half a million people. So the newly displaced have no place to take shelter. “Many have taken refuge in construction sites that dot the area, which are very dangerous places for children,” he adds.

“It’s hard to understand that it is not organized help when Iraqi Kurdistan is home to NGOs for years,” he regretted. Many displaced people have told him they hear the planes at a distance, but have not received any help.

-No place to hide

The researcher moved for days in northern Iraq, and witnessed the exaction of ISIS in Mosul, shortly after taking Iraq’s second city. “ISIS is practicing ethnic cleansing. Unable to speak of genocide, massacres has not been great because people flee. Hence, in terms of international law, what is happening here is ethnic cleansing, because people can not even think returning to their homes while ISIS continue to monitor the area, “he notes.

“ISIS is targeting Shiites, Turkmen, Yazidis and now Christian communities. Gives them the option to convert to Islam or die. Even Sunnis who think like they are being pushed out,” he says.

Yazidis are mostly ethnic Kurds and practice an ancient religion that borrows synthetic rites of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam.

Panic, ISIS main weapon

According to AI researcher, this pressure was more gradual in areas under control of ISIS in Syria. But in Iraq, everything is faster. “The Christians of Mosul, for example, tried to stay in June At first, ISIS not bother them, but after the pressure began and gave them an ultimatum or convert to Islam or pay a tax or went Otherwise. kill them. When they began to flee, stole everything, “he recalls.

The panic functions as an engine flight. Sometimes, ISIS not even have to make an appearance in town, the sound of which are directed towards the empty of people there. “It has already happened in several cities that once people hear the rumor that ISIS is near, they reacts with panic and flee in masses. People are traumatized,” stresses.

ISIS reputation precedes any other terrorist organization of its ear by executing and imprisoning hundreds. “The killings occur in cities where men take up arms to try to resist. There are many men, women and ISIS has made children disappear without trace,” he says.

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