The British government classified the actions committed by the terrorist organization ISIS against the Yazidis in Iraq in 2014 as “genocide,” according to a statement released by the British Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
The statement clarified, “The United Kingdom officially acknowledged today (Tuesday) that ISIS committed practices of genocide against the Yazidis in 2014.”
In the past, the British government has condemned the atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidis. However, these condemnations did not reach the level of acknowledging these crimes as genocide.
Last January, the German Parliament (Bundestag) recognized the crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidis in Iraq as genocide, recommending a series of support measures for the Yazidis.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked their stronghold in the province of Nineveh, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s office for rescuing abducted Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.
According to the office, more than 120,000 Iraqi Yazidis have fled since ISIS launched its attack, and tens of thousands who remained in the area live in camps.
