Ongoing Crisis for Yazidis: Thousands Remain Missing After ISIS Rule

Nearly 3,000 Yazidis kidnapped during the ISIS brutal campaign in Iraq remain unaccounted for over a decade after the group’s invasion of their homeland, Rudaw reported. According to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the fate of 2,832 individuals from the Yazidi community is still unknown.

The office reported that approximately 5,000 Yazidis have died, leaving 2,745 orphaned children. Hussein Qaidi, head of the office, stated efforts continue to rescue abducted individuals, with a recent success in returning a woman from Shingal after over ten years in captivity.

Additionally, the office has documented 93 mass graves of Yazidi Kurds killed by ISIS between 2014 and 2017. Despite the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the group still poses a security threat, with many Yazidi women and children found in camps and areas controlled by various factions in Syria.