A massive fire swept through a camp sheltering Yezidi refugees in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-held region on Friday, destroying hundreds of tents, the Iraqi state news agency INA reported.
The camp in the province of Duhok is home to thousands of displaced members of Iraq’s Yezidi religious minority community, the agency said.
The blaze gutted nearly 400 tents, the province’s civil defense spokesperson Bewar Abdulaziz said, according to INA.
“Civil defense teams managed to control the fire. An investigation has started to determine its cause,” he added.
At least six people were injured in the fire, according to INA.
Footage on the Kurdish news website Rudaw showed smoke billowing above the camp. Subsequent explosions of flammable materials, including gas cylinders, exacerbated the situation, Rudaw reported citing Duhok Governor Ali Tatar.
The Yezidis, the followers of an ancient faith, were the target of atrocities perpetrated by Daesh terrorists, who overran swathes of Iraq in 2014.
The terrorist group regards Yazidis as infidels.
