NEWS CENTER - Showing how KDP fleed Shengal with her photographs, journalist Berfin Hezil said: "KDP said they would protect the Yazidis. However, let alone protecting the Yazidis, they didn't allowed them to defend themselves."

 

Having captured Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, on June 10, 2014, without encountering any resistance, ISIS headed to Shengal, the homeland of Yazidis, in August of the same year. In the ISIS attack, in which thousands of Yazidis were massacred and captured, the images in which the peshmerga forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) fled the city and left the Yazidis face to face with a new massacre. Journalist Berfin Hêzîl, showing how the KDP fleed Shengal with her photographs, Berfin Hezil told what happened those days and what followed.

 

YAZIDIS WERE LEFT DEFENSELESS

 

Noting that Shengal was left defenseless at an unexpected time, journalist Hezil said that Shengal was targeted because it is a strategic place. Hezil said, "If they wanted to do something between Mosul and Raqqa, they should have held the strategic place. But there is a precedent: When ISIS entered Mosul, we were following Mosul. Iraqi forces fled and Mosul fell into ISIS' hands within an hour. They took Mosul within hours. An agreement was signed between them. Back then Mr. Öcalan was constantly warning international states and calling to 'protect the Yazidis'. There were also Turkmens in Til Efer. They were in danger too. But because the KDP signed an agreement with ISIS, it did not allow any force to enter Shengal and prevent the people from organising their self-defense. Let alone protecting the Yazidis, it did not allow them to defend themselves."

 

Pointing out that the KDP had gathered all the weapons of the Yazidis before the attack, Hezil said, "It also threatened to arrest anyone who did not give up their weapons. The Yazidis thought it was a matetr among Muslims and ISIS wouldn't attack them. But a few Yazidi villages fell into the hands of ISIS and there was fear among the Yazidis. But the loud voice of the Rojava revolution was reaching Shengal. Some said 10 YPG fighters would be enough to protect them. They were fooling themselves. KDP were preventing YPG's enterence to Shengal. One morning around 5, someone said 'ISIS took Shengal'. I was doing an interview at the time and I was feeling that something bad was coming. I knew a great massacre was on the way."

 

PESHMERGA FORCES DID NOT EVEN SHUT A SINGLE BULLET

 

Noting that she witnessed the peshmerga fleeing during the interview, Hezil said, "People were crossing from Shengal to Zaxo. People were saying, 'The peshmerga did not protect us, took our weapons, did not allow us to resist. That's why we got scared and fled.' I asked, 'Why are you running away, why didn't you protect this community despite all your weapons?' They replied, 'We don't have the initiative.' With the agreement, the Yazidis became victims again. That's why when we say Shengal, we think of indescribable betrayal, heroism and shame. The Peshmerge did not fire a single bullet and left the Yazidis face to face with ISIS. This was not the first time this was done to the Yazidis. But despite everything, this society did not surrender."

 

THEY DIED THIRSTY AND HUNGRY

 

Stating that many Yazidis lost their lives before reaching Mount Shengal after the ISIS attack, Hezil said that the reason for this was that KDP forces escaped without firing a single shot. Hezil said, "12 thousand peshmerga fled without firing a single bullet. That's when I felt what a great massacre it would be when the peshmerga fled. When ISIS attacked from all four sides, Koço and Tilezer districts resisted for 7 hours before running to Mount Shengal. They didn't have heavy weapons. Many of them died of hunger and thirst. Children of 2-3 years old were dying of thirst. The elderly were dying before they even reached the mountain. It was so hot that people had difficulty breathing. It was almost 50 degrees. People were running up to the mountain. What happened there was the disgrace of the 21st century. Rojava acted fast. They heard the call of the people of Shengal and ran to their help and opened the life corridor."

 

THE CALL THAT SAVED SHENGAL

 

Stating that the YPG corridor, the HPG forces coming to Shengal and the call of the PKK Executive Council member Murat Karayılan saved Shengal, Hezil said, "The guerrilla came to Shengal from Qandil at the call of Karayılan. All of these were recorded and seen. Corridors were opened on three sides of Shengal Mountain. The corridor was closed on October 15-20 during the rescue. This brought a lot of trouble. They attacked from the side of Rojava. Shengal Mountain was besieged from all four sides. People starved and what did KDP do? It mocked with the values of the people. It took a tour over Shengal Mountain with choppers. When Barzani took a tour over Shengal Mountain with a chopper, the Yazidis said, "Barzanis sold us cheap and bought us cheap." HPG fought for days to open a corridor. But the peshmerga entered Shengal with their light weapons. Who cleared the way for them? Of course, ISIS did. Then they claimed they saves Shengal. Name one Peshmerga that died in Shengal. The betrayel of KDP will never be forgotten no matter what they do. People will neverforget these days before they stand trial."

 

THE RESPONSE TO ISIS

 

Hezil stated that YBŞ was established as a defense force after Shengal was liberated and women took their place in this organisation. Hezil said, "Women's participation in the YBŞ made the success of Shengal even greater. Although women had an important place in the Êzidî faith, they were marginalized with the influence of Islam. In this process, the most meaningful response to those who started this war was women's participation in the YBŞ. Perhaps the greatest response to Barzani and ISIS was the establishment of the YBŞ. The second meaningful development was that they organized themselves very quickly. They established their councils and parties. The society understood that there would be no defense without women. They saw that they had no other choice but to create their own power. The only aim of the warriors was to protect this society. They did not know the geography of this place, they did not know the region. But they resisted selflessly. While the KDP was a disgrace to humanity in the 21st century, the HPG became a hero without limits. I wish Mount Shengal could speak and tell you what happened there. No human, or photo can tell what happened there."