Sinjar

Iraq / Ninawa / Sinjar /
 city, place with historical importance, district center

Şhengal or Shingal (Arabic: سنجار Sinjar, Kurdish: :شەنگال Şengal, Syriac: ܫܝܓܳܪ Shiggor) is a city and district in northern Iraq. It is admnistered by the Ezidixhan People council and PMU-supported Yezidi Lalesh group.

The city is the center of the Şhengal / Sinjar / Ezidistan district and region. It is situated at the foot of the Şhengal / Sinjar mountains and close to the border with Syrian autonomous region of Rojava. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, mainly inhabited by Ezidi Kurds with Muslim Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian minorities. The city is almost deserted since ISIS invasion in 2014, and only a few civilians returned after its liberation by the Peshmgera Forces.

After Peshmerga retreat on 17 ocktober 2017, the YBS and HPG units in the city stayed and have established joined control with
(PMU-supported) Yezidi Lalesh group. en.hawarnews.com/ybs-commander-our-troops-are-stationed...

History:

The city was a famous Assyrian Church of the East diocese in the 8th century
The city was capital of the Kurdish Principalty of Tasini during the 19th century.
The important Chermera temple (meaning 40 Men) is found at the highest peak of the Şhengal or Sinjar Mountains.
The city is the biggest city and capital of the Yezidi religious minority.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yezidis

In August 2014, the Siege of Mount Şhengal or Sinjar raged between Sunni Arab militants of Daesh and on the other side the Kurdish Peshmerga and local Yezidi groups leading to a mass exodus of residents, especially from the Yezidi community, branded by Daesh as "devil worshipers", after the Peshmerga was defeated. The New York Times reported that Daesh killed dozens of Yezidi men and forced their women to marry jihadi fighters.

A Kurdish offensive occurred from December 17 to 21, 2014 from over the Syrian border by the Syrian Kurdish YPG and PKK-combatants from camps near Dohuk province, Which ended the siege of Mount Sinjar/Shengal.

By November 2015, Peshmerga, several Yezidi militias, and the YPG and PKK militants, supported by intense US-led international coalition airstrikes and indirect ground support, started a major campaign to free Şhengal /Sinjar / Shiggor city and the southern part of the district from ISIL control.

The start of this campaign was delayed several times because of difficulties to reach an political agreement to in which extend the different Kurdish and Yezidi factions would have a role in governing the city and region/district .

According to Kurdish sources, nine Yezidi mass graves had been found by the end of the offensive. Eighteen Yezidi shrines have also been destroyed by Daesh militants since June 2014. As additional graves were found, masked Yezidis retaliated against assumed ISIL collaborators in four Muslim villages in late January 2015 with Sibaya and Chiri attacked on January 25 and Khazuga and Sayer on January 26. Peshmerga were able to stop additional attacks on two more villages.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°19'7"N   41°51'40"E

Comments

  • Shngal Center Izadi Kurdish descent.
  • شنگال ،،، شه‌ره‌فا کورد .. ناموسا کورد Shingal , honor of Kurds <3 Shingal <3 <3 Ezidixan <3
  • City under YBS and some Iraqi police control on 17 October 2017: https://twitter.com/EzidiPress/status/920223044471263232