MARDIN, Turkey
At least 80 Ezidi refugees from Iraq have arrived in Turkey’s south-eastern province of Mardin and told of the horror they left behind in their villages.
Reports from The Anadolu Agency correspondent in the area said the refugees crossed the Habur border post on Friday, fleeing attacks from Islamic State fighters, formerly known as ISIL.
Meryem Ubeyt, 20, said: "ISIL killed many people in our village. Women and young girls were kidnapped by the militants. Our brothers and sisters and other relatives are still there. I'm worried about their lives.”
Turkish Ezidi Kamal Haraqi added: “They are being massacred in their homeland and hundreds of their villages were burned, ransacked. Their women have been kidnapped. This is a total atrocity.”
Many of the Ezidi religious minority’s members are angry at Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who they believe did not do enough to oppose IS.
The Ezidis are the latest minority group to flee in the face of IS advances. The Sunni extremists regard their ancient beliefs as ‘devil worship.’
www.aa.com.tr/en
