ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Yazidi spiritual council on Sunday called on Baghdad and Erbil to secure the borders with Syria so that the events in Sinjar (Shingal) do not repeat, and expressed solidarity with Rojava (northeast Syria), amid ongoing tensions between Damascus and Kurdish-led forces.

“Until now we have not forgotten Shingal…We ask Baghdad's government to protect the borders through the Iraqi army and the heroic Peshmerga…We continue to be victims in this region, we hope that the pain that befell Shingal does not repeat in Hasaka and Qamishlo and other areas, Kobane and all the areas of Rojava,” spokesperson for the council Karim Sulaiman said during a presser.

Sulaiman's words caution a repeat of the tragic events that transpired during the Islamic State's (ISIS) rule of Sinjar, amid recent attacks by Syria's islamist-led transitional government on Kurdish-held areas in Rojava have seen Damascus take over several prisons where ISIS members were previously guarded by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who led the charge in defeating the Jihadist group.

“Our request is that the language of negotiations and dialogue becomes dominant and that is why Mir's contact continues with our Yazidi and Kurdish people in Syria,” the Yazidi spokesperson  added.

Hundreds of ISIS militants and affiliates have reportedly gained their freedom amid the Damascus offensive, with the US currently cooperating with Baghdad to move some 7,000 ISIS-affiliated prisoners to Iraqi prisons to safeguard them and prevent their escape. Damascus and the SDF announced a 15-day ceasefire on Saturday to facilitate the prisoner transfer.

“The main request of the Mir (Prince) was for the fighting to stop and these conflicts to be solved peacefully because the language of fighting is a violent language and brings nothing good,” Sulaiman stressed.

“The Mir's request for all the Yazidi people is to extend their hand and help the people of Rojava," he added.

In August 2014, ISIS militants seized control of the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar, launching a brutal campaign of killings, abductions, genocidal rape, and forced conversions of members of the ethno-religious minority group.

More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the ISIS campaign, and over 6,000 others, mostly women and children, were abducted and sold into sexual slavery. Thousands of abducted Yazidis still remain missing.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa of Syria, who ousted his predecessor Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, commanded the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group before his ascension to power, and was previously the leader of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra front.