Abducted in 2014
Two Yazidi girls rescued from ISIS captivity reunited with families
DUHOK – Two Yazidi girls, Khonav Naif, 10, from Kocho, and Tawaf Dawood, 24, from Gruzer, were reunited with their families after being rescued from captivity in Syria’s Al-Hol camp. The girls, abducted by the Islamic State in 2014, were found in the Al-Hol camp in Hasakah, Syria, and have been returned to their families at the Sharia camp in Duhok governorate, Kurdistan Region.
Khonav’s grandmother, Na’am Khalaf, who lost several family members during ISIS attacks on the Yazidi community, expressed gratitude for the rescue efforts.
“We thank everyone who helped us in rescuing and bringing back our girls,” Khalaf told 964media. “We hope for more efforts to find the other girls who are still missing.”
Khonav was only three months old when she was abducted. Hussein Qaidi, head of the Yazidi Rescue Office, said efforts would continue to reunite abducted children with their families.
“We are doing everything we can to bring joy back to the families of the abducted children,” Qaidi stated.
The rescue of Khonav Naif and Tawaf Dawood offers a glimmer of hope for a community still bearing the deep scars of genocide.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants captured Sinjar district, abducting 6,417 Yazidis. With the rescue of Khonav and Tawaf, 3,581 individuals have been rescued, while 2,836 remain missing.
The ISIS assault on Sinjar led to mass killings and the abduction of thousands of Yazidis, particularly women and children, who were subjected to horrific abuses. Many were sold into slavery, forced to convert, or used as human shields, resulting in one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent history.
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