空爆、レイプ被害...ISに囚われた親戚を心配するヤジディ教徒「逃げる方法を見つけなさい」

ヤジディ教徒の女性が、イラク北部からの報告を目にした。内容は、フランスによる過激派組織「イスラム国」(IS)本部への空爆についてだった。彼女は体の内側にある恐ろしい感覚を振るい落とすことはできなかった。
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過激派組織「イスラム国」(IS)の性奴隷から逃れたヤジディ教徒の女性。ISがイラクの都市シンジャルを破壊した後、生活している移動式の家で話をした

ヤジディ教徒の女性が11月16日、イラク北部からの報告を目にした。内容は、フランスによる過激派組織「イスラム国」(IS)本部への空爆についてだった。彼女は元気づけられたけれども、体の内側にある恐ろしい感覚を振るい落とすことはできなかった。

29歳のスィナンは7カ月前、包囲されたシリアのラッカから命からがら逃げた。彼女が言うには、おそらく数百人のヤジディ教徒の女性や子供が今でもISの人質になっており、性奴隷や少年兵として捕らわれているという。

「私たちはとても心配しています」。彼女は、ともに奴隷捕虜から生き残った従姉妹の隣に座って語る。「私たちだけが、彼らがどんなに苦しいかを知っています」。

彼らは空爆を支持しているのだが、彼らの愛する人々が犯人と一緒に死んでしまうことを恐れている。

フランスは11月15、16日にラッカを粉々にした。それは、129人が死亡し、352人が怪我をしたISによるパリでの忌々しいテロに対する報復だった。フランスのフランソワ・オランド大統領は16日、今後数週間は過激派に対する攻撃を続けると誓った。

アメリカ軍が率いる多国籍軍は、ISが首都とするこのラッカを1年以上空爆し続けてきた。しかし、パリで多くの人々が殺されたことを受け、ISを潰すために空爆が強化されたことで、ヤジディ教徒はラッカでISに捕らえられている家族を心配している。

「ラッカで空爆があると、いつも隠れる場所を探していました」。彼女は、地下トンネルで何度も体を丸めていた姿を説明しながら語る。トンネルは、ISが数日前に撤退した都市シンジャルで、ハフポストUS版が15日に目の当たりにしたものととても似ていた。

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クルド人治安部隊「アサイシュ」のヤジディ教徒が、約20メートルのISのトンネルを下った。トンネルは、シンジャルのある自宅下に掘られたものだ

ISは15カ月前にイラク北部にあるヤジディ教徒が多数の都市シンジャルを侵略、少数派の人々をレイプしたり、奴隷や改宗させる方針を決めた。

強硬路線の戦士たちは、ヤジディ教徒を「悪の崇拝者」や多神教徒とみなす。多神教徒とは、彼らの信仰が、イスラム教とキリスト教、ユダヤ教、ゾロアスター教の要素を組み合わせていたものだからだ。

今のところアメリカが支援するクルド軍がシンジャルから過激派を追い出しているが、都市は荒れ、貧しくなったヤジディ教徒は立て直しの望みがほとんどないと語る

同時に、数千人の友達や親戚、姉、妹、息子が今も行方不明のままだ。ラッカやイラクのモスルのような場所でISに捕らわれている人もいるし、死んだり、死んだと思われている人もいる。

ハフポストUS版は昨年夏、ISに殺された約80人のヤジディ教徒の女性の合同墓地だとされる現場を見た。頭蓋骨や骨が湿った地面にあり、地下に気味の悪い何かが埋められていると思わせた。

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ISによって殺されたヤジディ教徒の女性のものだとみられる骨がぬかるんだ地面に散らばっていた=11月15日、イラクのシンジャル

歳を取った女性たちは、若い女性や少女らと分けられ、男性や10代の少年と一緒に殺されたと、生存者らはハフポストUS版に語った。

洗脳されやすかったり性的に利用しやすいと思われた人々だけが生き残り、恐怖に耐えている。

スィナンと数百人のヤジディ教徒の女性がは、2014年8月に起こった大量殺戮から生き残ったが、彼女の4カ月の娘ララは食べ物や水、医療の不足が原因で直後に死んだ。

「私たちは、生き残るために自分たちのおしっこを飲みました」。彼女はまるで昨日のことのように語る。

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ヤジディ教徒の女性が捕らえられていたという、シンジャルにある建物。友達や家族は外で殺され、その後に合同墓地に葬られた。現在、この建物は、アメリカの空爆と、クルド軍とISの戦いの数カ月後、完全に壊された

スィナンは、イラクのタッル・アファルに子供を埋葬した。そこはシンジャルで捕まった後にISに連れていかれた場所だ。その数カ月後、ラッカにバスで運ばれた。

スィナンは初めラッカの庭に止めて置かれ、その後、彼女が言うには、100人のヤジディ教徒の女性とともに油田で支配された。彼女は結婚していたが、彼女を捕らえた人物が、彼女をアフリカ系の背の高いイギリス人の弁護士と「結婚」させた。その男人は繰り返し彼女をレイプしたり、鉄パイプで殴ったりした。

男の仮名は「アブ・ムスリム」で、「ISが宗教に則っている」を意味している。この名は、ISの極端なイスラム教解釈を非難している世界中の大勢のイスラム教徒の恐怖に対抗するものだ。

「私は彼を小さく粉々に切り刻みたいと思っています」。強い怒りを伴ったトラウマを抱え、スィナンはそう語った。

スィナンの従姉妹で30歳になるイブティサムは、彼女が見たぞっとするようなレイプについて語る。ISが7歳から9歳の少女を暴行したという。

「私はこの目で、彼らが彼女らの手足を縛るのを見ました。『代わりに私を殺してください』と、私は彼らに言いました」。

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ISの拘束から逃げたヤジディ教徒の女性。どのように誘拐され、奴隷にされたのかを語る

従姉妹たちが逃げられたのは、自由になるために数千ドルを払うことができたからだ。

スィナンによると、ラッカに住むISの一員ではないシリア市民が、生理用品の箱の中に彼女が隠していた2000ドルと引き換えに彼女を逃がすことを受け入れた。彼はまた、彼女のイラクの家族から2万ドルをとった。

22歳の元学生ダウドは、24歳の姉コウラがラッカで性奴隷として4歳の弟と一緒に捕らえられていると話す。

都市での合同空爆について聞いた後、彼はいつものようにメッセンジャーアプリ「ワッツ・アップ」で姉を捕らえている人にメッセージを送り、姉弟たちがまだ生きているかどうかを尋ね、姉を買い戻すと懇願した。求められた金額は4万ドルだ。しかし、ISは彼の小さな弟を解放するつもりがなく、そのためコウラも弟と一緒でなければ逃げることを拒んでいると、ダウドは言う。

ISの兵士らは最近、過激派の制服に身を包み、ロケット推進式の手りゅう弾のようなものを抱いて笑っている幼児の写真をダウドに送った。

ダウドは、姉の「夫」がすべての文字を彼女に読んであげる時だけ、彼女と話をすることができると話す。しかし、彼は得意げにある事実を語る。それは、コウラがどうやって過激派グループに立ち向かった、ということだ。

「ISの青年が彼女のもとへやって来てくると、『あなたが誰か知っています。あなたは悪党です』と彼女は言いました。彼女はとても勇敢で、何も恐れません」と、彼は話す。

過激派がコウラを殴るものを見つけるためにその場を離れると、彼女は他の女性たちの集団の中に逃げ、すぐに服を着替えた。

捕虜という残忍な行為と、頭上で大きな音を轟かせている空爆からコウラが生き残るなら、どうにかして、いつか彼女を取り戻すつもりだとダウドは話す。

スィナンは、コウラのように奴隷になっている人々がいる一方で、自由という現実とともにかろうじて生きることができる日々があると話す。

「何かしら逃げる方法を見つけなさい。助けることができなくてごめん」。イラクで捕らわれているヤジディ教徒の女性たちに伝えるメッセージを頼むと、彼女はそう言った。

※何人か危険から守るために仮名にしています。また、彼らの友達や家族はまだISによって奴隷にされています。

この記事はハフポストUS版に掲載されたものを翻訳しました。

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Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community cross the Syrian-Iraqi border along the Fishkhabur bridge over the Tigris River at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(27 of61)
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A displaced Iraqi child from the Yazidi community rests after crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(28 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(29 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(30 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(31 of61)
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Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community cross the Syrian-Iraqi border along the Fishkhabur bridge over the Tigris River at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(32 of61)
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A displaced Iraqi from the Yazidi community rests after crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(33 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community rest after crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(34 of61)
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A displaced Iraqi mother from the Yazidi community carries her baby to safety as after crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(35 of61)
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Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community rest after crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(36 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-RELIEF-DEMO(37 of61)
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Cars drive past burning tires after displaced Iraqi Yazidis, who fled a jihadist onslaught on Sinjar, demonstrated demanding more aid at the Bajid Kandala camp in Kurdistan\'s western Dohuk province, on August 13, 2014. Time was running out for starving Yazidis trapped on an Iraqi mountain as the West ramped up efforts to assist survivors and arm Kurdish forces battling jihadists. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(38 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community rest after crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 13, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDI(39 of61)
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An Iraqi woman from the Yazidi community isits near her baby in a building under construction used as shelter after their fled their hometown of Sinjar which was attacked by Sunni militants from the Islamic state (IS), on August 12, 2014 in Dohuk, the Kurdish region of autonomous Kurdistan in Iraq. Thousands of members of the Yazidi minority are trapped on the mountain in northwestern Iraq with little food or water by jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group who overran the region. The UN refuge agency put the number of people on the mountain at 20,000-30,000, while UN minority rights expert Rita Izsak warned they face \'a mass atrocity and potential genocide within days or hours.\' AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-SYRIA-UNREST-YAZIDI-DISPLACED(40 of61)
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Peshmerga forces hand out water bottles and show the way to displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community as they cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 11, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-SYRIA-UNREST-YAZIDI-DISPLACED(41 of61)
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Peshmerga forces hand out water bottles to displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community as they cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 11, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-SYRIA-UNREST-YAZIDI-DISPLACED(42 of61)
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Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 11, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDI(43 of61)
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An Iraqi woman from the Yazidi community prepares dinner for her children in a building under construction used as shelter after their fled their hometown of Sinjar which was attacked by Sunni militants from the Islamic state (IS), on August 12, 2014 in Dohuk, the Kurdish region of autonomous Kurdistan in Iraq. Thousands of members of the Yazidi minority are trapped on the mountain in northwestern Iraq with little food or water by jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group who overran the region. The UN refuge agency put the number of people on the mountain at 20,000-30,000, while UN minority rights expert Rita Izsak warned they face \'a mass atrocity and potential genocide within days or hours.\' AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-SYRIA-UNREST-YAZIDI-DISPLACED(44 of61)
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Peshmerga forces hand out water bottles to displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community as they cross the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq, on August 11, 2014. At least 20,000 civilians, most of whom are from the Yazidi community, who had been besieged by jihadists on a mountain in northern Iraq have safely escaped to Syria and been escorted by Kurdish forces back into Iraq, officials said. The breakthrough coincided with US air raids on Islamic State fighters in the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq on August 9, and Kurdish forces from Iraq, Syria and Turkey working together to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and rescue the displaced. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(45 of61)
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An Iraqi Yazidi fighter stands guard outside a shrine on August 10, 2014 in Sheikhan, northeast of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq and near the Kurdish city of Dohuk where Yazidis found refuge. Thousands of Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority following an ancient faith rooted in Zoroastrianism, fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(46 of61)
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A picture taken on August 10, 2014 shows Yazidi Iraqi fighters walking past the grave of a child who died of malnutrition at a cemetery in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region, where Yazidi families took refuge after they fled the Mount Sinjar area. Thousands of Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority following an ancient faith rooted in Zoroastrianism, fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(47 of61)
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Iraqi Yazidis, who fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar, gather at a makeshift shelter on August 10, 2014 in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region. \'The Kurdish peshmerga forces have succeeded in making 30,000 Yazidis who fled Mount Sinjar, most of them women and children, cross into Syria and return to Kurdistan,\' said Shawkat Barbahari, a Kurdhish official who is in charge of the Fishkhabur crossing with Syria. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(48 of61)
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A child sleeps as Iraqi Yazidis, who fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar, sit in a building where they found refuge on August 10, 2014 in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region. \'The Kurdish peshmerga forces have succeeded in making 30,000 Yazidis who fled Mount Sinjar, most of them women and children, cross into Syria and return to Kurdistan,\' said Shawkat Barbahari, a Kurdhish official who is in charge of the Fishkhabur crossing with Syria. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(49 of61)
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Iraqi Yazidis, who fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar, gather inside a building under construction where they found refuge on August 10, 2014 in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region. \'The Kurdish peshmerga forces have succeeded in making 30,000 Yazidis who fled Mount Sinjar, most of them women and children, cross into Syria and return to Kurdistan,\' said Shawkat Barbahari, a Kurdhish official who is in charge of the Fishkhabur crossing with Syria. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS-KURDS(50 of61)
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Iraqi Yazidis, who fled their homes a week ago when Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar, gather inside a building under construction where they found refuge on August 10, 2014 in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region. \'The Kurdish peshmerga forces have succeeded in making 30,000 Yazidis who fled Mount Sinjar, most of them women and children, cross into Syria and return to Kurdistan,\' said Shawkat Barbahari, a Kurdhish official who is in charge of the Fishkhabur crossing with Syria. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(51 of61)
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Iraqi Yazidi women who fled the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, sit at a school where they are taking shelter in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region, on August 5, 2014. Islamic State (IS) Sunni jihadists ousted the Peshmerga troops of Iraq\'s Kurdish government from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, forcing thousands of people from their homes. The Yazidis, are a small community that follows a 4,000-year-old faith and have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists who call them \'devil-worshipers\' because of their unique beliefs and practices. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAFIN HAMED via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(52 of61)
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An Iraqi Yazidi family that fled the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, sit at at a school where they are taking shelter in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region, on August 5, 2014. Islamic State (IS) Sunni jihadists ousted the Peshmerga troops of Iraq\'s Kurdish government from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, forcing thousands of people from their homes. The Yazidis, are a small community that follows a 4,000-year-old faith and have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists who call them \'devil-worshipers\' because of their unique beliefs and practices. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAFIN HAMED via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(53 of61)
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Iraqi Yazidis who fled the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, wait at a school where they are taking shelter in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region, on August 5, 2014. Islamic State (IS) Sunni jihadists ousted the Peshmerga troops of Iraq\'s Kurdish government from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, forcing thousands of people from their homes. The Yazidis, are a small community that follows a 4,000-year-old faith and have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists who call them \'devil-worshipers\' because of their unique beliefs and practices. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAFIN HAMED via Getty Images)
IRAQ-UNREST-YAZIDIS(54 of61)
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An Iraqi Yazidi girl who fled with her family the violence in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, stands at at a school where they are taking shelter in the Kurdish city of Dohuk in Iraq\'s autonomous Kurdistan region, on August 5, 2014. Islamic State (IS) Sunni jihadists ousted the Peshmerga troops of Iraq\'s Kurdish government from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, forcing thousands of people from their homes. The Yazidis, are a small community that follows a 4,000-year-old faith and have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists who call them \'devil-worshipers\' because of their unique beliefs and practices. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:SAFIN HAMED via Getty Images)
IRAQ-CONFLICT(55 of61)
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An Iraqi Turkman Shiite child displaced from the northern Iraqi area of Tal Afar takes shelter in a school in Sadr City, one of Baghdad\'s northern Shiite-majority districts, on August 5, 2014 after fleeing fighting between the Islamic State (IS) militants and Kurdish forces in both Tal Afar and later in Sinjar. Baghdad\'s air force and Kurdish fighters from Syria joined forces with Iraq\'s embattled peshmerga to push back jihadists whose latest attacks sent thousands of civilians running for their lives. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images)
Doctors treat Iraqi boys lying on a hosp(56 of61)
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SINJAR, Iraq: Doctors treat Iraqi boys lying on a hospital bed in the town of Sinjar 08 July 2006 after being wounded in a car bomb attack agaisnt a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi town of Tal-al-Banat the day before. At least seven people were killed and 46 wounded in a car bombing at a mosque in northwestern Iraq in the village of Tal al-Banat near the town of Sinjar, west of the main northern city of Mosul. AFP PHOTO/MUJAHED MOHAMMED ... (Photo credit should read MUJAHED MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:MUJAHED MOHAMMED via Getty Images)
A man walks in the rubble of a mosque in(57 of61)
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TAL-AL-BANAT, Iraq: A man walks in the rubble of a mosque in the Iraqi town of Tal-al-Banat late 07 July 2006. At least seven people were killed and 46 wounded in a car bombing at a mosque in northwestern Iraq in the village of Tal al-Banat near the town of Sinjar, west of the main northern city of Mosul. AFP PHOTO/MUJAHED MOHAMMED (Photo credit should read MUJAHED MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:MUJAHED MOHAMMED via Getty Images)
Charity For Orphaned Iraqi Children(58 of61)
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NOTHERN IRAQ - DECEMBER 1: An orphaned Iraqi boy holds a packet of cheese spread given to him by a 101st Airborne Division soldier December 1, 2003 in Northern Iraq. Orphaned children such as these affected Spc. David McCorkle of the 318th Tactical Psychological Operations Company to the point where he took the steps in forming American Aid for Children of Nineveh Iraq, a humantiarian assistance corporation set to keep these children off the streets and in classrooms. (Photo by Chris Jones/U.S. Army via Getty Images) (credit:U.S. Army via Getty Images)
Iraqi Border With Syria Guarded By Iraqi Border Patrol(59 of61)
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IRAQ/SYRIA BORDER, IRAQ - OCTOBER 31: An Iraqi border guard stands on the berm separating Iraq from Syria October 31, 2003 just west of Sinjar, Iraq. U.S. president George W. Bush said recently \'We are working closely [with Syria and Iran] to let them know we expect them to enforce borders to stop people coming across.\' The commander of the 101s t Airborne Rakkasan 1-87, Lieutenant Colonel Hank Arnold, responsible for 70 miles of the porous border says they have not seen any fighters crossing the border contrary to what President Bush says.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
Iraqi Border With Syria Guarded By Iraqi Border Patrol(60 of61)
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IRAQ/SYRIA BORDER, IRAQ - OCTOBER 31: Iraqi border guards look into Syria as they stand on the berm separating Iraq from Syria October 31, 2003 just west of Sinjar, Iraq. U.S. president George W. Bush said recently \'We are working closely [with Syria and Iran] to let them know we expect them to enforce borders to stop people coming across.\' The commander of the 101s t Airborne Rakkasan 1-87, Lieutenant Colonel Hank Arnold, responsible for 70 miles of the porous border says they have not seen any fighters crossing the border contrary to what President Bush says.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
U.S. Soldiers Celebrate Halloween With Donkey Race.(61 of61)
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SINJAR, IRAQ - OCTOBER 31: U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Hank Arnold (L) and Major Scott Vezeau from the 101st Airborne Rakkasans regiment take time out on Halloween day for a donkey race October 31, 2003 at the American base in Sinjar, Iraq. The soldiers have been deployed in the northwestern region of the country since March 2003. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)