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Sinjar massacre

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Sinjar massacre
Part of the Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014) and 2014 American intervention in Iraq

An F/A-18C Hornet aboard the USS George H.W. Bush prior to the launch of airstrikes.
Date3–14 August 2014
(1 week and 4 days)
LocationŞingal (Sinjar), Nineveh Province, Iraq
Result ISIS captures Sinjar[9] and massacres 500 Yazidis;[10] U.S. launches airstrikes on ISIS positions in the area[11] as Kurdish fighters of the YPG and PKK break the ISIS siege[2][3][4] of 50,000 Yazidis on Mount Sinjar[12]
Belligerents

 Iraqi Kurdistan

United States United States[1]

Kurdistan Workers' Party[2][3][4][5][6]

People's Protection Units[2][3][4][7]

Supported by:

Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Majid Ahmed Saadi†
(Iraqi Air Force)[13]		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
500 Yazidis killed (Yazidi MP claim)[10]
50,000 displaced[12]


The Sinjar massacre was conducted by Islamic State (shortened IS, ISIL or ISIS) as part of the August 2014 offensive. Sinjar (Kurdish language: شنگال Şingal) was one of many towns captured during the Islamic State's offensive in early August 2014. Zumar was also taken over by ISIS, as well as the Mosul Dam. Kurds appealed to the Government of Iraq and the United States for air support to assist their cause. Kurdish army officials Peshmerga also said to a newspaper in an interview that air strikes are needed badly to stop a possible ISIS invasion into Iraqi Kurdistan.

On 7 August, the U.S. President, Barack Obama, stated that the U.S. would use air power to assist trapped civilians threatened with acts of genocide and attack ISIS forces. Obama stated that his decision was made because U.S. "leadership is necessary to underwrite the global security and prosperity", "to protect our [American] people," to "support our allies," to "lead coalitions of countries to uphold international norms," "to prevent a potential act of genocide," and to "strive to stay true to the fundamental values—the desire to live with basic freedom and dignity."[14]

Background[]

Sinjar was a predominantly-Yazidi before the ISIS takeover, and the invasion forced most to leave their homes. ISIS declared a Caliphate in June 2014 in areas of Syria and Iraq and have since gained more areas in Iraq.

ISIS take over[]

Main article: Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

On the morning of 3 August, ISIS forces advanced into and captured Sinjar.[9]

According to the United Nations, thousands of refugees were expelled from the city and lacked basic amenities. In parallel, the humanitarian disaster drew a harsh response by the Kurdish military Peshmerga and ISIS faced the first great resistance after its offensive in Iraq in June 2014. According to some reports as many as 500 Yazidis were massacred in the ISIS attack and its aftermath,[10] and dozens more died of hunger, while fleeing the ISIS advance.

Tahseen Said, Emir of the Yazidis, issued a plea on 4 August 2014 to world leaders, concerning the plight of the people being attacked by the Islamic State.[15]

The Yazidis were besieged by IS on Mount Sinjar, facing starvation and dehydration.[16][17]

U.S. airstrikes and humanitarian aid[]

Main article: 2014 American intervention in Iraq

On 8 August, US F/A-18 fighters bombed ISIS artillery units. Four U.S. fighters later bombed an Islamic State military convoy.[18] Another round of U.S. airstrikes in the afternoon struck 8 Islamic State targets near Erbil. Armed drones as well as fixed wing aircraft were used in the U.S. attacks.[19]

U.S. and U.K. planes dropped food and water for Yazidis stranded on the Sinjar Mountains and surrounded by IS forces firing on them, while France pledged aid to refugees.[20]

On 12 August, an Iraqi military helicopter, piloted by Maj. Gen. Majid Ahmed Saadi, crashed in the mountains while delivering aid and rescuing stranded Yazidi refugees.[21] The helicopter was also carrying Yazidi lawmakers and foreign journalists. The general was the only fatality in the crash,[22] while almost all of the passengers were injured.[13]

On 14 August, U.S air-strikes and Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units from Syria, together with their PKK allies from Turkey,[2][3][4] broke the ISIS siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of refugees to escape.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Obama Authorizes 'Targeted' Airstrikes Against ISIS in Iraq – NBC News. NBC News.com (7 August 2014).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Roussinos, Aris (16 August 2014). "'Everywhere Around Is the Islamic State': On the Road in Iraq with YPG Fighters". Vice News. https://news.vice.com/article/everywhere-around-is-the-islamic-state-on-the-road-in-iraq-with-ypg-fighters. Retrieved 2 September 2014. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/08/11/236000/us-airstrikes-helped-but-kurds.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Shelton, Tracey (29 August 2014). "'If it wasn’t for the Kurdish fighters, we would have died up there'". Global Post. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140827/if-it-wasn-t-the-kurdish-fighters-we-would-have-died-there. Retrieved 2 September 2014. 
  5. ↑ "Yazidi survivor recalls horror of evading ISIS, death". CNN.
  6. ↑ Pamuk, Humeyra (26 August 2014). "Smugglers and Kurdish militants help Iraq's Yazidis flee to Turkey". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-iraq-security-turkey-yazidis-idUSKBN0GQ1MX20140826. Retrieved 2 September 2014. 
  7. ↑ Syrian Kurds provide Iraq's Peshmerga support against ISIS. Middleeastmonitor.com (4 August 2014).
  8. ↑ "Video: YPG and MFS arrived in Shingal Mountains Sinjar to protect the refugees who fled from Shingal and other Towns News by Suroyo TV 4.8.2014 Western Dialect Source Suroyo T". Frequency.com.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns From Kurds and Threaten Major Dam
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Iraq: 'Hundreds of Yazidi minority slaughtered'. CNN.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Militants’ Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 10,000 Yazidis rescued through safe corridor, as ISIL 'fire on aid helicopters'
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 On a Helicopter, Going Down: Inside a Lethal Crash in Iraq
  14. ↑ Kliff, Sarah (7 August 2014). "President Obama's full statement on the Iraq crisis", Vox
  15. ↑ George Packer, "A Friend Flees the Horror of ISIS" The New Yorker, 8 August 2014
  16. ↑ "UN Security Council condemns attacks by Iraqi jihadists". August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 7, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808001143/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28699832. Retrieved August 7, 2014. 
  17. ↑ Levs, Josh (August 7, 2014). "Will anyone stop ISIS?". Archived from the original on August 7, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140807191105/http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/07/world/meast/stopping-isis. Retrieved August 7, 2014. 
  18. ↑ U.S. warplanes, drones strike ISIS in Iraq, again –. CNN.
  19. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/09/world/middleeast/iraq.html
  20. ↑ French FM in Iraq to Boost Aid Efforts. ABC News (27 June 2014).
  21. ↑ RUBIN, ALISSA J.. "The most important ride of his life". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140818/jsp/frontpage/story_18731043.jsp. Retrieved 1 October 2014. 
  22. ↑ Colgrass, Neal. "'At Least I'm Alive': Inside a Deadly Iraq 'Copter Crash". Newser, LLC. http://www.newser.com/story/192580/that-helicopter-crash-in-iraq-heres-what-it-was-like.html. Retrieved 1 October 2014. 
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Coordinates: 36°19′00″N 41°51′00″E / 36.3167°N 41.8500°E / 36.3167; 41.8500

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