MESOP : NOW THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN YEZIDI MILITIAS – Yazidi Militia Group to Fight Under Barzani Command

02.09.2014 – Hemin Salih – BasNews, Erbil –  A Kurdish Yazidi armed group, formed under the orders of Kurdistan Region president Massuad Barzani, is fighting on Sinjar Mountain. A Yazidi leader says the militia group is vital.

Ismat Mir Tahseen Bag, son of Tahseen Bas the spiritual leader of Yazidis, told BasNews that they have asked President Barzani to form a special militia comprised of Yazidi youths to protect the Yazidi areas with Peshmerga assistance. “We as Yazidis have our own expertise and the formation of a armed group is essential for us to tackle any further attacks,” he added. Qassim Shashou the current commander of the Yazidi militias fighting Islamic State insurgents on Sinjar Mountain said that they have formed a group under the name of “Yazidkhan”, fighting under the command of Kurdistan president Massuad Barzani. “Barzani is the General Commander of the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces and assists us – we work under his command,” Shashou told BasNews. Since Sinjar was taken by IS militants early last month, a group of Yazidi youths took up arms on the mountain and fought against the Jihadist group to protect the thousands of Yazidi refugees stranded on the mountain.