Yazidi group concerned over what withdrawal could lead to

Last week, President Trump declared ISIS was defeated in Syria and said the U.S. was going to withdraw its troops from the country.

Yazda International Vice President Hadi Pir, said that’s a big concern for Yazidis and other minority groups in Syria.

Pir said the troops’ absence will leave a vacuum for radical groups to fill.  He said that they’re not worried about ISIS, but Turkish–backed Islamist groups like the Free Syrian Army.

“They persecute Yazidis and they change their temples to mosques and force them to convert to Islam,” Pir said.  “Most of them run away.”

Pir said the presence of American troops in minority areas in Syria keeps such groups from going in and taking over.

He said ISIS is also a concern, but that the threat from Turkish–backed forces is bigger at this time.

“It’s the same threat,” Pir said.  “They just want them to either convert or change or leave.”

And while Syrian President Bashar al–Assad has been accused of killing innocents, Pir said things are more stable in areas under his control.

“Many minorities can live in the areas under Bashar,” he said.  “That does not mean it’s safe.  That does not mean we’ll not be persecuted.  But they still can live.”

Pir said Yazda wants to tell the Trump administration what the consequences of a withdrawal will be for Yazidis.

He said they’d like to see either U.S troops or an international force have a presence in minority areas.

He said Americans should be concerned too because when minorities are persecuted, that’s a sign that the threat could grow bigger.