Ezidis unable to return to Sinjar due to PKK: Turkish envoy

DUHOK, Iraq

The Ezidi community, which escaped from Iraq's Sinjar district and took refuge in Duhok province after Daesh/ISIS took control of the region, is unable to return to their homes because of oppression by the PKK and the terror group's extensions in the region, Turkey’s consul general in Erbil said Thursday.

Hakan Karacay paid a visit to Ezidi Mir (prince) Hazim Tahsin Beg and spiritual leader Baba Sheikh in Shehan District of Duhok province.

Mir Hazem and Baba Sheikh thanked Turkey for its assistance to the community, Karacay told Anadolu Agency.

Ezidis welcome the humanitarian aid provided by Turkey, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, language and race, Karacay said.

Ezidi people living in the camps in Duhok widely believe that Sinjar district is still not a safe place to return due to the PKK’s presence in the region, he noted.

Underlining that internally displaced Ezidis are currently in a poor condition, Mir Hazem said: “We expect the Sinjar deal between Erbil and Baghdad to be implemented.”

The Sinjar deal, signed under the auspices of the UN in October last year between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on the status of the region, envisages clearing the region of PKK terrorists.

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

Some 450,000 Ezidis escaped Sinjar after Daesh/ISIS took control of the region.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara