Erdogan receives Iraqi Ezidi delegation

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received on Friday a delegation of Ezidis who had fled from Iraq to Turkey.

"Turkey has always stood by the oppressed, mistreated and those who need help and will continue to do so. We are attempting to quell suffering in our region, which has seen many grievous incidents, without discriminating between any religion, language, color and sect," Erdogan told the delegation at the newly built Turkish Presidential Palace.

This Kurdish ethno-religious minority, which stretches across into northern Iraq, hit the headlines after being targeted by the militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 

Thousands of Ezidis have fled their homes and villages, with many being stranded on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq without food and water.

ISIL has reportedly killed hundreds of Ezidis in Iraq since June, according to statements from Iraqi officials.

Turkey is believed to have accommodated some 30,000 Ezidis in a number of refugee camps in its southeastern provinces.

Violence instigated by ISIL militants has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people in August alone, and caused 1.2 million Iraqis -- including Turkmen, Arabs, Christians and Ezidis -- to flee their homes.

The U.S. is leading an international coalition, which includes France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, among others, and has carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, where the militants control large swathes of territory.

www.aa.com.tr/en