Nine years have passed since the liberation of the Shengal region from the terrorist militia ‘Islamic State’. On 3 August 2014, the region in north-west Iraq was invaded by ISIS, with the Iraqi army troops and the peshmerga of southern Kurdistan’s governing party, KDP, who were responsible for security, retreating without a fight. ISIS committed genocide and femicide against the Yazidi community.

Only with the help of a dozen guerrilla fighters from the PKK were hundreds of thousands of people saved from certain death or enslavement. Reinforcements from the HPG (People’s Defense Forces) and YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) then moved out of the Kurdish mountains. Together with the YPG (People’s Defense Units) and YPJ (Women’s Defense Units), a corridor of escape to Rojava was created. Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and Shengal Women's Units (YJŞ) were formed, and the region was liberated step by step. In January 2015, an autonomous council was proclaimed. On 31 October 2015, an offensive began to liberate the villages in the west of the city of Shengal, and on 13 November 2015, ISIS was completely driven out of the region.

Turkish attacks on Shengal

Shengal is the last remaining settlement area of the Yazidi community. Since 2017, the region has been frequently bombed by Turkish fighter jets and drones. The specific targets are mostly facilities of the administrative body ‘Democratic Autonomous Council of Shengal’ (MXDŞ) or the self-defence units. Many of the fatalities are civilians, often survivors of the ISIS genocide of 2014. Many militants of the PKK movement who took part in the fight against ISIS in Shengal and protected the Yazidi community have also been killed in attacks by the Turkish state. Nevertheless, the reconstruction of Shengal continues. People's Councils have been established in the region, and the Yazidi women’s movement is a driving force in the struggle for self-determination and survival.

Bîro Berakat of the Shengal Autonomous Council spoke to Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about the events at the time: “When the massacre began in Shengal, many military forces were on the ground. They had promised to protect the Yazidi community. But then they abandoned Shengal. The Iraqi government first reduced their numbers and then withdrew the troops to Baghdad. Another force that had promised to protect the Yazidis was the KDP’s Peshmerga. But they did not defend the Yazidis and left them to the cruel gangs. Before that, the PKK had taken the initiative to send guerrilla units to the Shengal Mountains. But the forces that did not protect and defend Shengal also hindered the guerrillas. They wanted the Yazidi community to be wiped out. However, twelve HPG fighters put up strong resistance. They reached the mountains and protected the fleeing people.”

Bîro Berakat said that the fight of the HPG vanguard had turned the tide: “These twelve friends were led by Comrade Dilşêr and Comrade Memo. Thanks to the resistance they led, our community was able to save itself from the gangs. Later, a corridor was opened, and people were taken to safe places. It was this force that helped the Yazidi community to get back on its feet.”

According to Bîro Berakat, the reconstruction of Shengal based on Abdullah Öcalan's model of a democratic nation only began later: “The students of Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) fought here for months. They saw it as their duty to protect the Yazidi community, even at the cost of their own lives. Thanks to their selflessness, we were able to continue to exist as a community. All Yazidis can identify with Shengal Apo's ideas. After the liberation, those who did not defend Shengal at the time returned. They did not come back to protect Shengal, but to badmouth the PKK. The betrayal of the Yazidi community will always be a black mark against them.”

According to Bîro Berakat, almost 300,000 Yazidis returned to Shengal after the liberation, which is encouraging: “In Shengal, we live together with other religious communities. If there are no further interventions, all religions, ethnicities and languages can live together here. We hope that all Yazidis will return to their homeland. They should leave the camps in Southern Kurdistan and come back. We have paid a high price, but we do not regret it. We will always defend our community. What happened back then must never be forgotten.”