Êzîdxan Protection Force
The Protection Force of Êzîdxan (HPÊ)[nb 1] (Kurdish: Hêza Parastina Êzîdxanê ,هێزی پاراستنی ئێزیدخان,[3][4] Arabic: قوة حماية ايزيدخان[5]), is a Yazidi military force founded by Haydar Shesho in the summer of 2014 in response to the Sinjar massacre.[6] The force joined the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2017.[2] It is bigger than the other main Yazidi militia, the Sinjar Resistance Units, which is aligned with the Kurdistan Communities Union.[7]
| Protection Force of Ezidkhan | |
|---|---|
| Hêza Parastina Êzîdxanê (HPÊ) | |
![]() Flag of the Êzîdxan Protection Force | |
| Leaders | Haydar Shesho |
| Dates of operation | 2014–present |
| Status | Active |
| Size | 25,000[1] |
| Part of | |
| Allies | |
| Opponents | |
| Battles and wars | Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) |

The militia was known as the Protection Force of Sinjar or HPŞ (Kurdish: Hêza Parastina Şingal), also translated as Sinjar Defense Units[7] or Sinjar Protection Force, until November 2015, when it changed its name to Hêza Parastina Êzîdxanê or HPÊ.[8]
In October 2015, the HPŞ participated in the foundation of the Sinjar Alliance as an all-Yazidi joint commando umbrella structure with the Sinjar Resistance Units, the Êzîdxan Women's Units,[9] and other, independent Yazidi units recruited to the united Yazidi front.[10]
Under the joint command of the newly-founded Sinjar Alliance, the Protection Forces of Sinjar took part in the November 2015 Sinjar offensive.[11]
Notes
- Also transliterated as Ezidkhan Defense Units, Ezidkhan Protection Force, Protection Force of Ezidkhan, Êzîdxan Protection Force or Êzîdxan Defense Units
References
- IS-Terror in Shingal: Wer kämpft gegen wen? Ein Überblick, Ezidi Press. 12 October 2014
- Baxtiyar Goran (9 March 2017). "Haider Shesho: Ezidkhan Units take orders from President Barzani, Peshmerga Ministry". Kurdistan24.
- "هێزی پاراستنی ئێزیدخان لە باکووری شنگال جێگیرکراون". Rûdaw (in Kurdish). 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- "Hêza Parastina Êzîdxanê: Em li benda fermana Barzanî ne". Rûdaw (in Kurdish). 10 February 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- "قوة حماية ايزيدخان والحزب الديمقراطي الايزيدي يرفضان تنصيب حازم تحسين بك اميرا جديدا". sotkurdistan.net (in Arabic). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Die Angst der Yeziden im Sindschar-Gebirge, 30 August 2014
- Paraszczuk, Joanna (11 June 2015). "Yazidi militias fight IS in Iraq, amid Kurdish rivalries". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ÊzîdîPress: HPŞ benennt sich in HPÊ um: Hêza Parastina Êzîdxan
- "Yezidi forces form alliance against IS". Êzîdî Press. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- "Independent Yezidi units join Shingal alliance". Êzîdî Press. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- "Shingal: KurdInnen starten mit vereinten Kräften Großoffensive gegen IS". Kurdische Nachrichten (in German). 12 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
