Yazidi children at a session in a War Child Child Friendly Space in a camp in northern Iraq.

Why thousands of Yazidis are displaced in Iraq

The Yazidi religious minority came to global attention four years ago when ISIS took over parts of northern Iraq.

    • Date:
    • Author: Ben Excell

    • Type

      Blog

    • Region

      Iraq

The world watched in horror as the Yazidis were subjected to the worst of ISIS brutality. Thousands were killed while the women and girls who were spared were forced into sexual slavery. 

An attack on the district of Sinjar forced thousands from their homes, with many families fleeing up to Sinjar Mountain with no food, water or medical care. 

The communities remained under siege for months until they were finally evacuated.  

Since then, most Yazidis have lived in displacement camps in northern Iraq, where War Child is working.  

“We were on the mountain, there wasn’t any food to eat, and there was nowhere to sleep” - Sa'afi, 13 

A Yazidi family, living in a camp in northern Iraq.
A Yazidi family, living in a camp in northern Iraq.

Four years on, ISIS have been defeated in Iraq, and the international community’s attention has turned elsewhere. Yet there are still thousands of Yazidis living in displacement camps.  

Why? They are stuck – faced with an impossible choice. 

They could go home but going home is fraught with danger. The presence of leftover mines, mortars and booby-traps means their homes are no longer safe.  

Others have no homes left to return to. 

Those who stay in the camps face an equally uncertain future as international funding for services in their camps slows to a trickle.  

"We stayed on the mountain for 10 days then we came here, but we were ruined, we were about to die on the way and no-one helped us" - Sa'afi, 13 years old 

ISIS destroyed homes and buildings across northern Iraq.
Arete/War Child UK

With the defeat of ISIS, many organisations have decided to turn their focus away from northern Iraq to crises elsewhere. But the Yazidis are still displaced. And now their services are being abandoned, leaving thousands without urgent help. The ongoing effects of war will impact the community for years to come. Urgent assistance is required to help children and families rebuild their lives.