Yazidis wary amid stalled Sinjar offensive
Peshmerga forces near the front line in Sinjar await KRG President Massoud Barzani's orders to advance on the Islamic State.
SINJAR, Iraq — The road to the front line runs close to the Syrian border, through Yazidi towns once occupied by the Islamic State (IS) and bombarded by airstrikes.
Peshmerga fighters allied with various other forces say they will move forward as soon as the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorizes them to do so.
Meanwhile, several members of the Yazidi ethno-religious minority expressed bewilderment to Al-Monitor about the halt of the offensive in late December 2014, after major gains were obtained with the help of US airstrikes, when over 3,000 square kilometers (1,864 square miles) in the Sinjar area were reportedly taken back from IS in less than 48 hours.
The Sinjar area in northwestern Iraq was hurled into the international spotlight last year when the peshmerga withdrew during an attack by IS, leaving the Yazidis, deemed "devil-worshippers" by IS, at the extremist group's mercy.
