According to a report conducted by the United Nations Human Rights office following a request from the Iraqi government, the Islamic State has committed crimes against humanity and genocide in its attempt to force its beliefs upon the Middle East. The jihadist organization may have possibly committed genocide while trying to eliminate the Yazidi minority in Iraq.

On Thursday, March 19, United Nations released a report discussing various crimes committed by the Islamic State: murders, torture, rape, abduction, sexual slavery and using children as soldiers. The data was acquired from interviews with more than 100 witnesses and surviving victims of Iraq attacks from June 2014 to February 2015. The report shows many violent operations aimed at ethnic and religious groups like the Yazidis, Christians, Kurds, Shia and Turkmen.

The Islamic State now controls various regions in Iraq and Syria where countless and systematic attacks targeting the Yazidi minority have taken place. The report stated the aim of these operations was “to destroy the Yazidi as a group” which led to the accusation of IS being “guilty of genocide” against this minority.

In many Yazidi settlements men and boys older than 14 were abducted and shot. According to the report, some areas “were entirely emptied of their Yazidi population.” The Yazidi follow an ancient religion that is a mix of Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism but are considered Satanists by the Sunni Muslim fighters.

On February 3, a mass grave was discovered by Kurdish forces near Sinuni, an Iraqi village. The grave contained remains of Yazidi members.

Among other crimes committed by IS are those against women which were taken as “spoils of war” or were sold as sex slaves. Some women were given to IS members as “gifts”. There were situations were girls, even younger than six, we heard screaming for help from the houses used by IS militants to rape them.

A 19-year old girl, IS victim, told agents she had been raped countless times for the duration of two and a half months by an IS “doctor”. He also intentionally sat on her abdomen because he considered the baby should die as it was an infidel.

Some boys were not killed. They were forced to accept Islam as their religion. They were given military and religious training which included watching beheading clips.
Image Source: Daily Mail