UK acknowledges 'acts of genocide' committed against Ezidis by Daesh/ISIS terror group

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain on Tuesday formally acknowledged that "acts of genocide" were committed against the Ezidi people by the Daesh/ISIS terror group in 2014.

The announcement coincided with the 9th anniversary of atrocities committed against the Ezidi people in northern Iraq.

"Today we have made the historic acknowledgement that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people," Lord Ahmad, minister of state for the Middle East, said in a statement.

In August 2014, Daesh/ISIS terrorists attacked Sinjar, a region with an Ezidi-majority population.

The terror group kidnapped and killed thousands of people, including women and children, or detained them in areas under its control.

"The Yazidi population suffered immensely at the hands of Daesh nine years ago and the repercussions are still felt to this day. Justice and accountability are key for those whose lives have been devastated," Ahmad said.

In January, the German Federal Court of Justice found a former Daesh/ISIS member guilty of "acts of genocide and crimes against humanity."

According to the Foreign Office, the UK officially recognizes five instances as genocide: the Holocaust, Rwanda, Srebrenica and acts of genocide in Cambodia and against the Ezidi people.