DUHOK, Iraq

Ezidis who fled the Sinjar district in Mosul province of Iraq to camps in Duhok following attacks by the Daesh/ISIS terror group, have been forced to live apart from their homes for nearly 10 years.

That is because of the occupation of the district by another terror organization, the PKK.

Daesh/ISIS terrorists attacked Sinjar, a region with an Ezidi-majority population, in August 2014.

The terror group kidnapped and killed thousands, including women and children, or detained them in areas under its control.

The PKK terrorist organization managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Ezidi community from Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

Sinjar has a strategic location, as it is 120 kilometers (74 miles) from Mosul and close to the Turkish-Syrian border.

An agreement between Erbil and Baghdad that was signed Oct. 9, 2020, to eliminate the PKK terror group in the region, has not yet been implemented.

Fearing that the PKK in Sinjar would kidnap and kill their children, Ezidis are afraid to return to their hometown.

Jalal Casim, who is residing in the Sharya Camp established in 2014 for Ezidi refugees in Duhok, told Anadolu that Sinjar needs an environment of peace and security, and under current conditions, they cannot return home.

"The armed elements in Sinjar (PKK terrorists) pose an obstacle to our return. Sinjar must be cleared of armed groups. For refugees to return, Sinjar must be made safe both administratively and militarily. If the armed groups there are removed, people can return," said Casim.

Ture Murad said despite the harsh conditions, life is better than conditions in Sinjar.

"We want to return to Sinjar, to our home. but currently, there is chaos there. There is no possibility of living in Sinjar. At least in the camps, we have safety and we are not afraid," she said.

Another woman, Hohe Halef, whose mother, brother, sister-in-law and nephew were kidnapped by the Daesh/ISIS terror group, said: "We cannot return to Sinjar because we do not have security there.”

“Due to the presence of the PKK/YPG and other armed groups, there is no safety there. They would take our children away. That's why we do not want to return," she said.

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz