WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US State Department has recognized the atrocities committed by Daesh genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shiite Muslims, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Thursday.
"My purpose in appearing before you today is to assert that in my judgment Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians, and Shiah Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions."
The US state secretary added that Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these groups, and in some instances “against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities.”
"Ultimately the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal," Kerry stated. "[The United States would] strongly support efforts to collect, document preserve and analyze the evidence of atrocities," the top diplomat said.
Kerry admitted the State Department was not able to compile a "complete record" of all Daesh crimes due to a lack of access to information, and had relied on information gathered by the US Defense Department, intelligence community and outside groups to carry out its review.
John Kerry called on the international community to help the victims of Daesh terrorists as well as to stop the atrocities committed by the group.
"Today, I say to all our fellow citizens and to the international community, we must recognize what Daesh is doing to its victims, we must hold the perpetrators accountable, and we must find the resources to help to those harmed by theses atrocities to be able to survive on their ancestral land," Kerry said.
Daesh terrorists kill Christians and other religious minority groups solely based on their faith and because they do not follow its "perverse ideology," the US secretary of state said.
"Daesh has executed Christians solely because of their faith," Kerry stated. "Yazidis because they are Yazidis, Shia because they are Shia."
Kerry said that the group’s "entire world view is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology."
The US state secretary continued that "naming these crimes is important but what is essential is to stop them."
Kerry explained reaching that goal will require unity in the United States and within the countries directly involved.
"Their determination to act against genocide, against ethnic cleansing, against the other crimes against humanity must be pronounced among decent people all across the globe," Kerry maintained.
In February, Russian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis called on the international community to prevent the killing and expulsion of Christians from the Middle East and end the violence in the region. The two religious leaders also discussed the possibility of forming jointly a political association to counter the genocide of Christians.
As part of the group’s effort to create a so-called Islamic caliphate, Daesh has routinely engaged in mass murder, crucifixions, beheadings, rape, torture, enslavement and other calculated forms of violence against groups they seek to eliminate from their so-called state.
According to unofficial estimates, Daesh has killed tens of thousands of individuals since declaring its caliphate in 2014. The majority of the terrorist group’s victims are Muslims, but according to United Nations reports, the terror group deliberately targets entire groups for their ethnic or non-Islamic religious affiliations.
