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Revision as of 07:46, 4 October 2024 by Galamore (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Fawzia Amin Sido (b. 2002/2003) is a Yazidi woman from northern Iraq who was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) as a child during the Yazidi genocide in 2014. She was held in captivity for a decade. In 2024, she was rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza after her captor, a Palestinian militant, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. She was returned home to her family in Iraq through a multi-national operation that also involved the United States and Jordan.
Early Life and Captivity
Fawzia Amin Sido was abducted at the age of 11 when ISIS overran the Sinjar District in Iraq during the group's genocide against the Yazidis. The genocide, which the United Nations has officially recognized, resulted in the killing of up to 10,000 Yazidis and the displacement of over 400,000. More than 6,000 Yazidis, including women and children, were enslaved by ISIS.
After her abduction, Sido was coerced into marrying a Palestinian man reportedly affiliated with Hamas in Raqqa, Syria. Since her kidnapping, her family has had little communication with her. During her captivity, she faced continuous sexual and physical abuse, becoming pregnant and giving birth to two children at a young age. After moving between villages along the Iraq–Syria border, her husband was reported dead.
After her husband’s death, Sido was lured by his family in Gaza to join them. She and her children undertook a four-year journey through Turkey and Egypt, eventually arriving in the Gaza Strip around 2020. Once there, she faced significant hardship at the hands of her husband's family. Isolated from her own family, community, and native language, she experienced profound distress while caring for her two young children in her new environment.
Rescue Operation
Steve Maman, a Canadian businessman known for rescuing Yazidis from ISIS, told The Jerusalem Post that in late 2023, after one of her captors, a Hamas fighter, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, Sido managed to escape from her situation. She found a cell phone and shared her story in a TikTok video. This video caught the attention of Kurmanji-speaking channel Rudaw News, which helped locate her estranged family members. They contacted Maman who brought the case to Israel's National Security Council, urging the Israeli government to act quickly to rescue Sido and reunite her with her family. He used his connections to arrange a safe home for her near IDF forces and is awaiting authorization for her to leave the Gaza Strip.
On 3 October 2024, it was reported that Sido was freed from Gaza after a complex and coordinated operation led by Israel. after which she escaped and went into hiding. After Israeli intelligence uncovered her situation, Israeli authorities engaged with the United States for further information. Together, Israel and the U.S. began planning the rescue operation, which also involved Jordan and other unnamed international partners. Sido was taken from Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing and received food and basic treatment in Israel before being escorted by US officials to Jordan. She was then reunited with her family in Iraq.
Following her rescue, Brig. Gen. Elad Goren, who leads the Israeli military’s humanitarian-civilian effort in the Gaza Strip, told reporters that she appeared to be "more or less" in fine physical shape, but was "not in a good mental situation", due to years of abuse and rape.
See also
References
- ^ Livni, Ephrat (2024-10-03). "Yazidi Woman Taken Captive by ISIS Has Been Rescued in Gaza, Israel Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
- ^ "Kidnapped Yazidi woman stuck in Gaza for years yearns to be set free". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-10-04.