U.N. report: ISIS likely committed genocide against Yazidis

Yazidi women cry over lost loved ones.
(Image credit: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

A new report from the U.N. human rights office alleges that ISIS likely committed genocide against Iraq's minority Yazidi community. The report, which is based on interviews with more than 100 alleged witnesses and victims, describes a "manifest pattern of attacks" against Yazidis and alleges that ISIS may have committed war crimes against civilians, including children.

Women and children were treated like "spoils of war," The Guardian notes, and the report also accuses ISIS' sharia courts of unjust punishments, such as the killing of 13 teenage boys for watching a sports game.

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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.