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ISIS's slaughter of Christians/Yazidis officially a Genocide
What took them so long? ISIS's slaughter of innocent Christians and Yazidis is officially declared a genocide by U.S. 19 months after crisis began
- 'Daesh is genocidal by self proclamation, by ideology and by actions, in what it says, what it believes and what it does,' John Kerry said today
- Congress and the European Parliament already arrived at that conclusion
- Atrocities at the core of the declaration: the August of 2014 massacre of as many as 5,000 Yazidi men, and kidnapping of as many women
- Roughly 50,000 followers of the religion were trapped on Sinjar Mountain near the border of Syria
- Obama administration determined that Christians and Shia Muslims should also be included in genocide declaration
- Terrorist group has also committed 'crimes against humanity' and is responsible for 'ethnic cleansing' against those same groups and others
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to ISIS walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, in August of 2014. ISIS killed as many as 5,000 Yazidi men during that onslaught, which has now being called a genocide
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Secretary of State John Kerry formally declared ISIS' slaughter of Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims in Iraq and Syria a genocide this morning, following in the footsteps of Congress and the European Parliament.
'Daesh is genocidal by self proclamation, by ideology and by actions, in what it says, what it believes and what it does,' Kerry said, using an alternative name for ISIS.
The terrorist group has also committed crimes against humanity and directed ethnic cleansing at those same groups and in some instances others, including Sunni Muslims, Kurds and other minorities, he said.
ISIS committed the atrocities at the core of the declaration in August of 2014, when it killed as many as 5,000 Yazidi men, kidnapped as many more women, and trapped 50,000 followers of the religion on Sinjar Mountain near the border of Syria.
But it took the Obama administration 19 months to arrive at today's determination as it weighed the legal ramifications of calling the massacre a genocide and met with advocacy groups that wanted Christians and Shia Muslims included.
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Yazidis demonstrate, calling for the opening of the border, at the makeshift camp of the Greek-Macedonian border last week, where thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded. More than one million refugees and migrants - a majority of whom are fleeing ISIS - have arrived in Europe since the start of 2015
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The decision will not obligate the United States to take additional action against ISIS and does not prejudge any prosecution against its members.
But Kerry said this morning, 'We will do all we can to see that the perpetrators are held accountable.'
'I am neither the judge nor prosecutor nor jury,' Kerry said today in a statement delivered from the State Department. 'Ultimately the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination.'
The United States will offer 'strong support' to efforts to collect, document and preserve evidence of ISIS' crimes he said.
Kerry acted to meet a congressionally-mandated deadline. The House this week passed a nonbinding resolution by a 393-0 vote condemning the atrocities as genocide.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz43B2WQxPd
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