| BBC News | - |
A
member of Iraq's Yazidi religious minority, Khalil, trapped with
thousands of others on a mountain as Islamist militants advance,
described their plight for BBC News in an interview on Wednesday.
7 August 2014
Last updated at 07:02 ET
Surrounded by Sunni militant fighters, tens of thousands of Yazidis risk dying of thirst
We've been under siege for four days. We eat once a day - either in the morning or at night.
We've managed to get some basic food supplies from neighbouring areas, but three children died today because of starvation. Seven women and children have died since yesterday because of dehydration.
Some Yazidis have managed to reach the province of Dahuk in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
A lot of the people here have disabilities or suffer from
serious illnesses like diabetes. It's 50C here and we're being bombarded
indiscriminately.
We need help. Until now, no humanitarian aid has been delivered and no help provided by aid organisations - not the Red Cross or the Red Crescent, or even the United Nations. The Iraqi government and the Iraqi president have not helped. Nothing at all.
There are clashes going on between the Islamic State [IS] and the Yazidis. But we don't have weapons so what are we supposed to do?
In Dahuk Yazidi families have received food handouts
When IS fighters arrived in Sinjar, they said there was no
place for us in the area and that we had to leave. But where can we go?
When they attacked Mosul, many people fled to Sinjar.
The Peshmerga [Kurdish fighters] have not helped us at all. We haven't seen any of their soldiers. When they found out that IS was coming to shell Sinjar, they all left for Kurdistan.
On top of all the persecution and humiliation we have suffered, IS fighters now want to kill us. They want to slaughter us.
Peshmerga troops who held towns in the Sinjar area for years were defeated by militants on Sunday
Yazidis under fire
Eyewitness describes plight of Iraq's trapped Yazidis
Surrounded by Sunni militant fighters, tens of thousands of Yazidis risk dying of thirst
A
member of Iraq's Yazidi religious minority, Khalil, trapped with
thousands of others on a mountain as Islamist militants advance,
described their plight for BBC News in an interview on Wednesday.
We're hiding inside caves. We have nothing - no food and no water.We've been under siege for four days. We eat once a day - either in the morning or at night.
We've managed to get some basic food supplies from neighbouring areas, but three children died today because of starvation. Seven women and children have died since yesterday because of dehydration.
Some Yazidis have managed to reach the province of Dahuk in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
We need help. Until now, no humanitarian aid has been delivered and no help provided by aid organisations - not the Red Cross or the Red Crescent, or even the United Nations. The Iraqi government and the Iraqi president have not helped. Nothing at all.
There are clashes going on between the Islamic State [IS] and the Yazidis. But we don't have weapons so what are we supposed to do?
In Dahuk Yazidi families have received food handouts
The Peshmerga [Kurdish fighters] have not helped us at all. We haven't seen any of their soldiers. When they found out that IS was coming to shell Sinjar, they all left for Kurdistan.
On top of all the persecution and humiliation we have suffered, IS fighters now want to kill us. They want to slaughter us.
Peshmerga troops who held towns in the Sinjar area for years were defeated by militants on Sunday
- 40,000 Yazidis are believed to be trapped on Mount Sinjar
- At least 130,000 have escaped to the Kurdish north
- The Yazidis are a religious sect located in northern Iraq, Syria and the Caucasus
- Their faith is rooted in ancient Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam
- The principal divine figure, Malak Taus (Peacock Angel), is the supreme of seven angels who ruled the universe after God created it
- Yazidis are regarded as devil worshippers by many Muslims and other groups
- There are an estimated 500,000 Yazidis, mostly living on Iraq's Nineveh plains
- In August 2007 jihadists attacked Yazidi villages in Nineveh, killing between 400 and 700 people
Struggle for Iraq
-
The BBC's Frank Gardner asks whether Isis - the small but fanatical jihadist army - can rule the large tracts of Syria and Iraq it has conquered.'Jihadistan'
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Shia take on Isis
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Key Sunni players
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Shrines destroyed
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'Dangerous development'
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What does Isis want?
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Race against time
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What will Isis do next?
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End of Maliki?
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Regional alarm
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Sunni Arab leaders
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Life under Isis
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Inequality drives rebellion
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Mapping jihad
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Failing state?
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Reprisals stoke conflict
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Maps illustrate conflict
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Jihadi groups
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What might US air strikes achieve?
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Mortal blow to Baghdad
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ISIS eyes resources
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Is this the end of Iraq?
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A boost for Kurdish aims?
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