U.S. cargo planes yesterday dropped supplies to some 40,000 members of the
Yazidi sect in Iraq who have fled the town of Sinjar after it was taken over by the insurgent group Islamic State (known variously as IS, ISIS or ISIL). The Yazidi follow an ancient religion that is related to Zoroastrianism. More than 100,000 Yazidi have fled northern Iraqi towns taken over by IS, and some 40,000 of them remain stranded on Mount Sinjar. In a statement last night (
full text), President Obama said:
ISIL forces ... have called for the systematic destruction of the entire Yezidi people, which would constitute genocide.
Fox News and the
Los Angeles Times have additional details.
In a related development,
Reuters reports that on Wednesday an air strike by the Iraqi government targeted a Sharia court set up in the city of Mosul by IS. Sixty people were killed, including the judge.
