CARA ANNA
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A United Nations official says evidence strongly indicates that the Islamic State group’s assault on Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority is “an attempt to commit genocide.”

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic spoke to reporters Tuesday after a weeklong visit to Iraq, where he spoke with at least 30 Yazidis from various parts of the country.

Hundreds of Yazidis were killed as the Islamic State group swept across parts of northern and western Iraq in August. Tens of thousands fled for their lives, most to the Kurdish-held parts of northern Iraq. Hundreds of women and girls were captured by fighters.

An estimated 7,000 Yazidis stayed and have been forced to convert to the Islamic State group’s harsh interpretation of Islam.

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