Yazidis (Photo : REUTERS/AKO RASHEED)
The militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released more than 200 Yazidis, 60 of which are children, as stated by Kurdish officials on Wednesday.
According to Fox News, these Yazidis were held in captive by the ISIS extremists for eight months and upon release, the former captives showed signs of abuse and deteriorating health conditions. General Hiwa Abdullah, a Peshmerga commander, told the publication that these prisoners were released in Kirkuk, Iraq after Arab tribal leaders made deals and arrangements with the militants.
The reason behind the release is still not clear and this is the second time that Yazidi prisoners were freed. The first release happened back in January according to CNN and most of them were elderly and it amounted to around 215 people.
The Yazidis were held in captive by the terrorist organization since last August after the militants swept through their homes and abducted them from the town of Sinjar.
Yazidis are of Kurdish descent and their religion is one of the oldest communities all over the world, which is pre-Islamic. Witnesses' accounts from women who escaped the captivity shared that the ISIS militants used them as slaves.
Some Yazidis who were not captured by the ISIS militants had to remain in the mountains for days without any food or water while others travelled on foot to Syria to save themselves from the attack. The United States tried to help the Yazidis by dropping supplies via aircrafts.
According to an interview with the publication, a policymaker, Yian Dakhil, representing the Yazidis in the parliament of Iraq said that ISIS militants also slaughtered many Yazidis and a lot of women from this group were also raped. This is considered as one of the most inhumane humanitarian crisis.
