American Journal: These are Iraq's minority options if they don't feel safe

Forbes magazine has dealt with the plight of the survivors of what it described as the genocide committed by the Islamic State in Iraq. In which.

Author Olena Ushab spoke in a report published on the issue of safety and security, which was largely ignored, which made the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Yazidi Nadia Murad focus her focus on her five-point plan of helping residents of the areas targeted by IS groups.

The Yazidi activist presented her plan at the ministerial meeting to promote religious freedom held in Washington, DC, last July.

Nadia stressed in her plan that it is necessary to find a solution on the local government in the city of Sinjar and other areas disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, noting that if no solution is reached between the two sides, the Yezidis will continue to be victims of this conflict.

This was clearly demonstrated by the escalation of confrontations following the province's holding of the secession referendum in 2017. As a result, many religious minorities were forced to flee the town of Telqaf (Tel Asqaf) in the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq, for fear of injury or worse. As long as the conflict between the Iraqi government and the Kurds continues, the people in these areas will not be able to live.

Nadia Murad called for Baghdad and Erbil to better integrate religious minorities into the security forces, saying these efforts would enable religious minorities to regain their sense of security and prevent future genocide.

This is particularly important when thinking that the Yezidis were left unprotected before the IS attack. In August 2014, Kurdish Peshmerga forces were the only security force in the area, overseeing the Bases and checkpoints throughout Sinjar, as they defended the area for many years, however, it was said that the Peshmerga forces did not protect the Yezidis when ISIS carried out an attack on the city of Sinjar.

She pointed out that the integration of security minorities in the Iraqi security forces or belonging to the region will address this problem, because these forces will not only defend other regions but also their areas.

If these issues are not effectively dealt with, ISIS-targeted communities will continue to live in total terror or leave the region forcibly seeking safety, the author said.