TWO NEWS FROM IRAQ

The same day a young Yazidi was freed from ISIS, a terrible suicide attack took place in Iraq’s capitol city.

The 22-year-old Yazidi Najla Said Ismail was freed yesterday after seven years of ISIS captivity. She is one of more than 6,000 Yazidi women and girls who fell into the hands of the terror militia in 2014 during its attacks on Shingal, the traditional settlement area of the Yazidis in Iraq. However, Najla’s future life in freedom will be marked by uncertainty in view of the fragile political and economic situation in Iraq. This is partly responsible for the fact that even in the seventh year after the genocide perpetrated against her people by the so-called “Islamic State”, the majority of the Yazidis are forced to live in poorly equipped IDP camps, and a return to their areas of origin is not possible so far. This is because public security in the country is in a poor state: On Thursday, a double attack rocked Tayaran Square in the center of Baghdad. Authorities had previously eased pandemic regulations, which is why the marketplace was busier that day than it had been during the previous weeks. Two suicide bombers detonated explosive devices, killing 32 people and leaving more than 100 civilians seriously injured. The terrorist militia “Islamic State” has since claimed responsibility for the attack. We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms! It is terrorist acts like this, perpetrated again and again by extremist forces in the country, that contribute to the destabilization; and prolong and exacerbate the suffering of people who have already endured persecution and displacement.

Read more about the Baghdad attack here: