On December 22, 2025, local authorities in Duhok’s Khanke sub-district and Sharia complex allocated 400 residential plots, including some that belonged to Ezidis. The Ezidi Cause Alliance warns that this could change the demographic balance in areas historically and overwhelmingly inhabited by Ezidis.
Ezidi landowners report that their property is being reassigned to non-Ezidis, raising fears of slow displacement, similar to what happened in Sheikhan, where Ezidis gradually became a minority. While officials claim most plots went to Ezidis, even small changes threaten the survival of Ezidi towns and villages.
Khanke and Sharia are ancestral Ezidi areas, and any redistribution of land undermines Ezidi identity, culture, and security. Ezidis have already faced genocide, displacement, and emigration. Allowing non-Ezidis to move in could continue this pattern.
The Ezidi Cause Alliance demands that all decisions affecting land and housing involve Ezidi representatives and that Khanke and Sharia be legally recognized as demographically sensitive areas. Without action, centuries of Ezidi presence could be eroded quietly, village by village. Just like the Ezidi towns in Turkey slowly lost their Ezidi identity after the 1915 genocide.
