08.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Shabak targeted by Islamist groups for religious and ethnic reasons ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-seekers") [ID 22915]

"Like other religious minorities, the Shabak have come under increasing pressure from Islamic extremists. The fact that the Shabak primarily adhere to the Shi’ite branch of Islam makes them a target for Sunni Islamists. Others may look at them as “infidels” altogether given that they adhere to a distinct form of Islam. Possibly, they may also be targeted based on their (perceived) Kurdish ethnicity. UNAMI HRO reported that Shabak in the Ninewa Plains in particular have been pressured to convert to Islam. The Shabak community in the Governorate of Ninewa reported being subjected to violence and intimidation with more than one hundred of their followers murdered since the beginning of June 2006. Reportedly, over one thousand families have moved to villages outside Mosul city. UNHCR received information that the Shabak in Mosul city are under constant threat of being kidnapped or killed by Sunni extremists and have stopped going to school and work. UNAMI HRO reported that it was given a list by Shabak representatives documenting the killings of 41 members of their community during June 2006 in Mosul.
It further reported that in late December 2006, two members of the Shabak community were murdered in Mosul. According to the police, they were targeted only on the basis of their religion."

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