Yazidis in Lincoln commemorate ninth anniversary of genocide

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The local Yazidi community on Thursday marked nine years since the Yazidi genocide in Iraq.

Hundreds gathered near Malcolm — at the only Yazidi cemetery in the nation — to remember that fateful August day.

The Yazidis are a religious minority with roots in northern Iraq. In 2014, the Islamic State group killed and abducted thousands of them.

Hundreds of thousands more were displaced, with many coming to Lincoln, which has the largest Yazidi population in the U.S.

Thursday’s commemoration was a way to spread awareness so that such a tragedy does not happen again.

But it was also a way for those who lost loved ones to grieve.

“A lot of individuals here from the Yazidi community still have family members that are missing,” Khalaf Hasso said. “They don’t know if they’re still alive or anywhere, like, in the world.”

Some were pictures of missing loved ones, praying that one day they’ll be reunited.