On August 3, 2014 ISIS gangs, the enemies of humanity, committed a massacre in Mosul’s Shengal district. YBŞ General Commander Mazlum Şengal stated that they will make those responsible for the massacre that resulted in thousands of people killed, thousands more wounded and hundreds of thousands of Êzîdîs set out on an exodus pay, and that Êzîdîs should come together around YBŞ (Shengal Resistance Units).

“ANOTHER MASSACRE TOOK PLACE BECAUSE OUR PEOPLE HADN’T FORMED THEIR OWN FORCES”

YBŞ General Commander Mazlum Şengal said that the reason for the massacre on August 3, 2014 was that the Êzîdî people hadn’t developed their own self defense. Şengal said the background of all massacres hadn’t been properly investigated and continued: “We are reaching the second anniversary of the massacre against the Êzîdî people. We commemorate all massacre martyrs and all the martyrs of Kurdistan in the name of Martyr Berxedan, Martyr Şengal, Martyr Berivan, Martyr Newrez and Martyr Kawa. We need to investigate the reasons for this massacre and the ones before it. We must ask ourselves why these massacres happened. If we only look for fault in the enemy, or in governing powers, it may lead to new massacres. The investigations up to this day have been faulty. We have failed to produce accurate results. The repeating of the massacres shows that there is a problem. This massacre wasn’t handled correctly, in societal or individual aspects, and the reasons behind it haven’t been properly analyzed. They didn’t organize, they couldn’t become a force, they didn’t believe in themselves so another massacre took place.”

“YBŞ IS THE ÊZÎDÎ PEOPLE’S OWN FORCE”

“Another massacre was committed on August 3, 2014 by massacrist forces. This caused the people to leave their own land and disperse around the world,” said Mazlum Şengal, and mentioning that the Êzîdî people left their own defenses to other forces, he continued: “This massacre has shown that our people don’t have the will, the ideology, the philosophy yet. Because in previous years, we left our defense to other forces. This is why we were unable to protect the people during the massacre. This is not a desired situation, and we don’t think it’s right. Because we are the reason for the massacre. We need to organize and strengthen our current organizations to stop the massacres. And to that end, we need to develop an ideology, a philosophy, and a will. Only in this framework can massacres be stopped. Before the massacre, this people didn’t have a defense force, but after this massacre, this people organized themselves and formed the self defense force YBŞ.”

“LIBERATION OF SHENGAL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE UNITY OF OUR PEOPLE”

Şengal repeated that the YBŞ is a self defense force for the Êzîdî people and continued to call Êzîdî people to come together around YBŞ: “YBŞ is the name of the emergence of this people on the scene of history. YBŞ is the defense of this people’s values and a value in its own. It is a force to ensure the faiths and cultures live freely in this land and to strengthen them. Our people should approach it as such. This people have now built a self defense force, an organization, a philosophy and an ideology. Our people have reached an organization based in the democratic nation ideology in the light of Leader Apo’s philosophy.”

“In the past, when our people were attacked, we expected help from outside and found salvation in migrating. But now this has changed. Because now our people have developed their own power and organization. And from now on, they will take their place in this power, the YBŞ, to rebuild themselves. To this end, it is necessary to first join the struggle in the ranks of YBŞ. Because the conflict in the Middle East is not yet resolved, the chaos continues and deepens. And all peoples in the Middle East, primarily our own people, are still under threat. This is why our people need to develop their own organization and come together in unity. Only in this way can Shengal and our people can be free, and all peoples can live together. Today is the day to work for this, and to get into action. Today is the day for everybody to take their place in this movement.”

“YBŞ IS THE ONLY FORCE TO DEFEND EZIDXAN”

Şengal said the Êzîdî people should act in unity and called on all Êzîdî youth to join YBŞ/YJŞ with the words: “The same mistakes are repeated despite the two years that have passed since the Shengal massacre. This is wrong. Everybody needs to leave their old approach behind. The old approach was a wrong approach. That approach led us to defeat, not victory. It left us to face massacres. So, we need to leave behind tribalism. We need to stand together and take the Ezidxan spirit as a base. We need to form the Êzîdî unity. For this, all forces in Shengal need to unite. Only then we can defend both ourselves and Kurdistan. But apparently the approach to put the interests of family, tribe or sect before the interests of the people is developing. This is a faulty pursuit. This approach is a great danger, and that danger is another massacre. We need to take our place in the revolution taking place in all parts of Kurdistan and protect our own lands, the Ezidxan. We are making a call here. Anybody who wants to serve this people, should come and join the YBŞ. YBŞ does not belong to a family, a sect, a clan. We say that those who make such calculations can never win. We urge them to leave this mistake behind at once. Because YBŞ is a force to defend all Ezidxan, and it acts with the spirit of Ezidxan. We see this as a duty. With this duty, we haven’t left our lands since the massacre started, and we have defended our lands.”

“YBŞ LIBERATES THE CAPTIVES IN THE MANBIJ OPERATION”

Şengal stated that YBŞ played an active role in liberating many of Shengal's villages and that the only force in Shengal was YBŞ and said the following: “In Shengal city center first, YBŞ played an important role in Shengal’s liberated villages. And it has proven that the force that pays a price, the force that has martyrs in Shengal is YBŞ. Right now, our forces play an important role in Manbij, they are saving the families captive in the hands of the gangs. We promised our people this in the YBŞ conference, and we are delivering. We have saved 20 citizens in the Manbij Liberation Operation in this sense. And in the last move, 15 more citizens were saved from the gangs. At first, the governing forces had broken our people’s will to fight in their own lands, but now our people are saving our captives in the hands of the gangs in what is called the capital of the gangs as a historic duty. This is very important for our Êzîdî people. This is the only way we can achieve victory. Just fighting in your own home is opening the way for massacres. To prevent this, we need to fight in the enemy’s home. This is the only way we can stop them. For this, we are prepared to wage an honorable war everywhere that the gangs are. This is one of our core duties.”

“I CALL ON ALL THE YOUTH TO FIGHT IN THE RANKS OF YBŞ”

Mazlum Şengal emphasized that the YBŞ had emerged as the force of protection against the 73 massacres the Êzîdîs have experienced, and ended his words after saying the YBŞ would make those responsible for the August 3 massacre with the following: “Two years have passed since the massacre. But we have learned valuable lessons from this massacre. We need to see the areas in which we’re lacking and we need to have a self-recrimination. Only with a realistic approach can we provide our people and the children of our people with a beautiful future. In this manner, I offer my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in the massacre. And more people should join the YBŞ as a force that can make those who played a part in this massacre pay.”