Rescued Yazidi woman from Gaza tells horrifying details of forced cannibalism by ISIS captors
In her first recorded interview, rescued Yazidi woman Fawzia Amin Sido said that she and those in captivity with her were tricked by their ISIS captors into eating “the meat of Yazidi babies.”
Fawzia was captured in 2014 by ISIS in Iraq when she was just nine years old. Earlier this month, the IDF announced she was rescued by IDF soldiers.
A portion of the interview, conducted by British documentarian Alan Duncan, was published in The Jerusalem Post.
Fawzia described what happened to her and other Yazidis shortly after being marched by ISIS fighters from her home in Sinjar, Iraq to ISIS-controlled Tal Afar.
Not having eaten during the several-day journey, Fawzia said, “They told us that they would give us food. They made rice and they gave us meat to eat with it. The meat had a weird taste, and some of us had stomach aches afterward.”
“When we were done,” Fawzia continued, “they told us that this was the meat of Yazidi babies.”
She also noted that they were shown “pictures of beheaded babies,” and were told that “these are the kids that you ate now.”
“One woman suffered heart failure and died shortly after,” Fawzia said. “The mothers of these babies were there also. One mother recognized her own baby because of its hands.”
Later, Fawzia was trafficked to various men, and finally sold to be “married” to a Gazan terrorist known as Abu Amar al-Makdisi. After al-Makdisi was captured in Syria, Fawzia and the two children she had with him were eventually smuggled into Gaza to live with his family.
Since being rescued by the IDF earlier this month, Fawzia was able to return to her family in Iraq, though her children remain in Gaza.
The rescue was largely thanks to Steven Maman, a Canadian-Jewish businessman who has played a key role in coordinating the rescue of thousands of Yazidi captives.
“This is a happy occasion,” Maman said following the successful rescue operation. “But I can’t say I can celebrate wholeheartedly because I still have over 100 brothers and sisters sitting in dire situations in Gaza, and I will continue to act for their return in whichever way I can.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.