Mass grave could be site of Yazidi slaughter

A MASS grave containing the bodies of dozens of people, who may be Yazidis enslaved by the Islamic State (IS), was found in territory recently seized by the Us-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an SDF official said.

Many of the bodies found in the Baghouz area were those of women. “They were slaughtered,” SDF commander Adnan Afrin said. Most had been decapitated, he added.

The SDF was still trying to confirm if the bodies belonged to members of the Yazidi sect.

Thousands of members of the minority sect from Iraq were forced into sexual slavery by the jihadists when they surged across the border in 2014 and seized swathes of territory.

More than 3 000 other Yazidis were killed in an onslaught the UN later described as genocidal, which prompted the first US air strikes against IS. Thousands more fled on foot and many of them remain displaced more than four years later.

The SDF, the main partner of the Us-led coalition against the IS in Syria, tried to evacuate thousands of civilians in Baghouz before storming it or forcing the surrender of the remaining jihadists, who the SDF has said were mostly foreigners.

It said on Thursday it had freed 24 of its fighters held by IS in Baghouz, but gave no details of how they were recovered.

Thousands of people of many nationalities have streamed out of the final shred of land in recent weeks, an exodus of both its supporters and victims, surpassing initial estimates and delaying an end to the battle.

At least 84 people, two-thirds of them young children, had died since December on their way to al-hol camp in north-eastern Syria after fleeing IS in Deir al-zor, the UN said on Friday.

Al-hol camp now holds at least 45000 people, including 13000 who fled Deir al-zor, a UN spokesperson said, adding most of those who had died were under the age of 5, and 175 children were being treated for acute malnutrition. |