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For Iraq's Yazidis, Return Plan Is Full of Risk

The Yazidis of northern Iraq are an ancient religious minority. Islamic State forces brought suffering to the group in a series of targeted attacks six years ago. Now, many Yazidis want peace, security and a better life in their hometown of Sinjar, but a new plan for the area has them worried.

Iraq's central government and Kurdish officials released the new security and reconstruction¹ plan last week. The two praised the measure as a "historic" agreement.

Many Yazidis distrust the plan.

"The deal could pacify² Sinjar - but it might also make the situation even worse," said Talal Saleh, a Yazidi who lives in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Yazidis have suffered since Islamic State (IS) fighters invaded Sinjar in 2014. The invasion and its violence shocked Western countries into military action to stop it.

IS considered the Yazidis as devil worshippers for their religion, which combines Zoroastrian, Christian³, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs.

The Islamic State killed more than 3,000 Yazidis and enslaved 7,000 women and girls. The invasion pushed the 550,000 community of Yazidis off their homeland. Most now live in refugee camps in Kurdistan.

United States-supported Kurdish forces ousted⁴ IS fighters from Sinjar in 2015. Since then, the Iraqi army and competing armed groups have taken control of the town and surrounding areas. The groups include Shi'ite Muslim militia⁵, and Yazidi and Kurdish militants⁶ with different loyalties⁷.

Under the government plan, Iraqi forces would guarantee security and permit the return of tens of thousands of Yazidis. Many have been afraid to return because of a lack of security and services, said the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

But many Yazidis feel the plan is unclear and created by officials in Baghdad and Erbil, the Kurdish capital. The Yazidis say they were not included in the planning, and the security reforms could lead to more division and violence.

"The PKK and their Yazidi allies are not just going to leave Sinjar without a fight," Saleh said.

The security plan includes the removal of the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group. It has long fought against Turkey's government and bases itself in northern Iraq.

The plans also call for the ouster of PKK supporters, which includes a Yazidi force of hundreds of fighters.

The PKK helped thousands of Yazidis escape to Syria during the IS invasion after the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga forces retreated. The peshmerga returned to help recapture Sinjar.

The PKK is under attack by Turkish forces in Iraq. It exists uneasily alongside the peshmerga and the Iraqi army.

The plan says the Iraqi army and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) would oversee⁸ the removal of the PKK. That information comes from a copy of the plan seen by Reuters news agency.

The PMF is a paramilitary group made up mostly of Shi'ite militias⁹.

Some people fear this could split up families where members sometimes belong to different militias, armed forces and groups. The Yazidis have their own force in the PMF.

"There are about six political groups in Sinjar now. Brothers belonging to the same family each join different parties," said Akram Rasho. He is another displaced Yazidi living in Kurdistan.

But Iraqi and Kurdish officials are defending the plan.

"This is a good step to solve problems," said a Kurdish government spokesman.

Sinjar has also been caught up in a land dispute between Iraq's central government and Kurdistan since a failed Kurdish attempt for full independence in 2017.

The plan calls for the Baghdad and Erbil governments to choose new leaders for Sinjar and appoint a 2,500-member security force. Supporters of the PKK suspect that force would include returning Yazidis who are with the peshmerga.

Words in This Story

reconstruction – n. to recreate or rebuild

pacify – v. to calm or to soothe¹⁰

devil – n. the most powerful spirit of evil in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam who is often represented as the ruler of hell

worship – v. to revere¹¹ as a god or to practice one's religion

retreat – v. to pull back from a confrontation

1 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

2 pacify   

vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify the protesters with promises of reform.他试图以改革的承诺安抚抗议者。
• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

9 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

10 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

11 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。