President Bafel Jalal Talabani said, "on the anniversary of the occupation of Sinjar and the massacre of our Yezidi brothers and sisters, we pay tribute to the martyrs and commemorate the victims of this unforgettable tragedy."

Kurdish and Iraqi leaders, alongside journalists, activists and international figures, on Wednesday, commemorated the eighth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Shingal as over 2 thousand members of the ethnoreligious group remain in the captivity of the terror gang with their families holding out hope of their return.

“Today, eight years have passed since the tragedy and the signs of life in Sinjar are still not visible. Sinjar has become a victim of political conflict and efforts to return its residents and heal their wounds are weak. It is the duty of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi government to take serious and practical steps to resolve the issues and restore hope to the Yazidi brothers and sisters," Talabani added.

On October 9, 2020, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government, under the auspices of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), signed a deal to secure Sinjar and stabilize the region once again since the ISIS onslaught in 2014 that demolished the region. 

The agreement aims to end the suspended confrontation between the Peshmerga forces and the PMF, though its implementation is yet to be. Since the 2017 KRG independence referendum, the Peshmerga forces left the region for Popular Mobilization Forces. The region is home to various militia and armed groups that rival one another. 

Eight years on from the genocide, and still, many Yazidis have not returned to their homes, fearing a renewed expulsion. As such, most of the Yazidi majority region remains in rubble, and the prospect of rebuilding the region is dim.