Martyrs Committee’s statement on burial of 104 Yazidi genocide victims in village of Kocho

 On 3rd August 2014, ISIS terrorists invaded Shengal (Sinjar) and committed crimes of genocide, murder, torture and rape against thousands of our Yazidi brethren, a native community of Kurdistan.

Today the remains of 104 Yazidi victims were returned and laid to rest in the village of Kocho. Seventy-two mass graves have been found in the area, from which the remains of 348 victims have been exhumed so far.

On this sad occasion, we express our condolences to the families of the victims of the genocide against our Yazidi brethren, which was perpetrated by ISIS terrorists in an outrage against all religious, human, national and international laws. We bow our heads to these martyrs, and to all the martyrs of this monstrous crime.

We call on the federal authorities of Iraq – the Council of Ministers, the Government, and the judiciary - to recognize this crime as genocide against the Yazidis, to establish and implement special laws in an international court to try the suspects, to make reparations to the survivors, and to allocate a special fund in this and future years’ federal budget to rebuild the destroyed areas and homes, and through special projects and programmes to materially compensate and provide psychological support and healing. Before the remains of the victims and other evidence of the crimes are unavailable or destroyed, they must be completely documented and full access must be given to the international community to help Yazidi areas.

We also call on the Iraqi federal government to recover and exhume the remains of the victims of the Yezidi genocide, and to take all necessary measures to prevent such a crime from being repeated.

May God give peace to the souls of the victims.

Martyrs, Genocide and Political Prisoners Committee

6 February 2021