Secretary of State John Kerry announced on March 17 that ISIS is committing genocide against Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq.
“In my judgment Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in territory under its control,” Kerry said using another name for ISIS.
Kerry said he hoped that the religious groups he mentioned as being victimized realize that the “the United States recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes committed against them.”
“One element of genocide is the intent to destroy an ethnic or religious group, in whole or in part,” Kerry said.
“The fact is that Daesh kills Christians because they are Christians; Yezidis because they are Yezidis; Shia because they are Shia... Its entire worldview is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology,” he continued.
The last time the United States declared genocide was in 2004, when then Secretary of State Colin Powell denounced the atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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