YAZIDIS in Syria have appealed to the international community and human rights organisations to protect them from further genocide by jihadist groups and the Turkish state.

The Yazidi Union issued a statement in the Serdem refugee camp in northern Syria, explaining that the community has been subjected to “genocidal attacks” for centuries but continues to resist.

The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking people with their own monotheistic religion, have been targeted by Isis jihadists who consider them “devil worshippers.”