Photo par Frederick Paxton
The Yazidi people are a religious minority with roots in Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam that settled in Iraq's Nineveh plain nearly 1,000 years ago. Their communities are mainly located in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Estimates put their population anywhere from 70,000 up to 500,000.In August 2014, Islamic State (IS) fighters pushed north and attacked Sinjar city in northern Iraq, home to the largest and oldest Yazidi community. More than 50,000 people fled, with many ending up on nearby Mount Sinjar without food, water, or shelter, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Rescue efforts were launched, including US air support to both supply aid and bomb IS. The Kurdish militia known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) also created a safe corridor to help Yazidis escape into Syrian territory they control.Related: In Photos: Kurdish Forces Celebrate Routing the Islamic State From SinjarIS has been particularly focused on "cleansing" the Yazidis, casting them as devil worshippers and apostates. As they moved through Yazidi areas, residents were faced with prospect of death, conversion, or fleeing. Many did not get a choice and thousands were slaughtered. Women were taken as sex slaves and sold as property.For the last 15 months, IS held Sinjar, as the peshmerga, PKK, and US airstrikes tried to shake their hold. Then, in mid-November, peshmerga forces retook the city in a massive push involving 7,500 troops, with the hopes of cutting off the resupply routes between IS territory in Syria and Iraq.Watch the VICE News documentary, Reclaiming Sinjar: Pushing Back the Islamic State:Grotesque details of the torture and mass murder of unarmed civilians during the vicious occupation have filtered out steadily since Sinjar was reclaimed. Mass graves are still being discovered. The United States Holocaust Museum has declared that what happened to the Yazidis constitutes genocide.VICE News photographer Frederick Paxton has made multiple trips to cover the plight of the Yazidis and the fight against IS in Sinjar over the past year. Below are some of his photos from August 2014 to November 2015.Related: Some Yazidis Hesitate to Return to Sinjar After Ousting of the Islamic State
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