Fawzia Sidoyoung Yazidi woman, revealed horrific details of her captivity in ISIS, where she and other prisoners were forced to eat the flesh of children. Aged just 11, she was taken from her home during the Islamic State attack on her hometown of Sinjar in 2014.
In an interview with The Sun, Fawzia told how after days of starvation, she and other prisoners were given a meal of rice and meat by ISIS fighters. Only after eating them did the fighters inform them that the meat came from babies. “We were so hungry we just ate,” she said, recalling the terrible moment when they learned the truth.
“They cooked rice and meat for us, and we ate it despite the strange taste because we were very hungry. Then we all felt sick. IS fighters then revealed their terrible act: “The meat came from children,” says Fawzia.
Fawzia was one of thousands of Yazidi women and children abducted by ISIS, many of whom were sold into slavery or forced to live in terrible conditions. After years of violence and exploitation, her time in captivity finally ended in hiding rescue operation.
A secret mission coordinated by Israel, the United States and Iraq successfully secured Fawzia’s release from Gaza. According to Reuters, the rescue operation required close cooperation between the Israeli military and the US embassy. Fawzia’s kidnapper was reportedly killed during the conflict in Gazaletting her escape. She was then transported through the Kerem Shalom crossing to Israel before traveling to Jordan and eventually reuniting with her family in Iraq.
Fawzia’s lawyer, Zemfira Dlovani, told The Sun that while Fawzia is now safe, the trauma of her decade-long captivity remains severe. He only remembers some of his experiences due to the psychological scars inflicted by ISIS.
More than 3,500 Yazidis have been rescued or freed since the 2014 Yazidi genocide, but approximately 2,600 are still missing and efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining victims.
