An Iraqi who escaped a siege by Islamist militants says he will never forget the screams of women and children as they were shot and buried alive in the dark.

Yazidis hold signs reading "we will never return to Sinjar" during a protest at the border between Türkiye and Iraq on August 17. Photo: Reuters.

Samo Ilyas Ali has nine children to care for but he cannot focus on the future. He is haunted by the cries of women and children as they are buried alive by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq.

Tens of thousands of Yazidis have fled Mount Sinjar and other villages to escape a brutal crackdown by Sunni Muslim militants who say the minority "worship the devil" and want them to convert or die.

Haunted by the beheadings and mass killings by the militants, the Yazidi people want to leave Iraq and go as far as possible to countries like Germany so they don't have to witness the barbaric scenes.

Ten days ago, Ali and his fellow villagers were suddenly surrounded by IS militants armed with machine guns in the dark. The soldiers had beards and some wore masks with Arabic writing on their heads. They dug holes that soon turned into mass graves.

"We don't understand. The gunmen pushed people into the pit while they were still alive," Reuters quoted Ali, a 46-year-old vegetable shop owner, as he wept.

Later, Ali heard gunshots and the horrific scene was unforgettable for him. "Women and children were screaming for help. We had to run away to save ourselves but there was nothing we could do for them," Ali said.

Some Yazidis have survived with help from Turkey and Syria. In recent bloody attacks, Islamic extremists have killed at least 80 men in Kawju village for not converting to Islam and taken women and children, Iraqi officials said.

Yazidi refugees set up tents in Hasaka province, northeastern Syria on August 14 after fleeing brutal executions by Iraqi Islamist militants. Photo: Reuters.

Iraq’s Yazidi minority follow an ancient religious sect with roots in Zoroastrianism, practiced throughout northern Iraq and among the country’s Kurdish minority. Many of their villages were destroyed when former president Saddam Hussein’s forces destroyed the Kurds late last century.

Now they feel abandoned because the Kurds have abandoned them. Iraq has a new prime minister, who is seen as more moderate than his predecessor, who may bring political stability that benefits the people of the north.

But many Yazidis no longer have allegiance to Iraq and its leaders because they have many options. All they can do now is wait and try to forget what made them leave their homes.

"I still hear the screams of women and children being buried alive. They tried to keep their heads above water so they could breathe," recalled Dawud Hassan, a 26-year-old mechanic.

For Hassan, Iraq is nothing left for him. From having a house and a shop, Hassan now has nothing because everything was burned down. "We wanted to go to Türkiye but we were not allowed," Hassan said, expressing his desire to go to Europe.

According to vnexpress