Canada to accommodate 1,200 Yezidi refugees from IraqFebruary 22, 2017 - 10:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Canada will resettle 1,200 Yezidi refugees who faced persecution by the Islamic State group, AFP cited the immigration minister as saying Tuesday, February 21. Some 400 have already been airlifted to this country. "Our operation is under way and individual survivors of Daesh have been arriving in Canada for resettlement in the last number of months and this began on October 25, 2016," Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, using an Arabic name for the Islamic State. "Our government will resettle approximately 1,200 highly vulnerable survivors of Daesh and their family members in Canada," he added. The initiative follows Parliament's resolution last fall to take in Yezidis facing "genocide" in Iraq at the hands of the Islamic extremist IS group. The original aim was to bring over women and girls at risk, but Hussen told a news conference that Ottawa had learned that "Daesh has also deliberately targeted boys and as such we are helping to resettle all child survivors of Daesh." Hussen said the migrants are arriving on commercial flights at a "controlled pace" to avoid overwhelming Canada's refugee system. The operation is expected to cost Can$28 million (US$21 million). Since coming to power in late 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has resettled 40,000 Syrian refugees. The Yezidis taken in have been subjected to comprehensive security checks and medical examinations, Hussen said. Yezidis are a Kurdish-speaking minority with a pre-Islamic religion thought partly to have its origin in the Zoroastrianism of ancient Persia. They are neither Arab nor Muslim and IS considers them polytheistic heretics. Photo. Reuters Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia calls for prohibiting threats of attacks on nuclear facilities Armenia has raised the need for a treaty prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes. Ameriabank's Trade Finance portfolio enriched with four prestigious awards from EBRD and IFC Ameriabank received the awards from international financial institutions in recognition of its trade finance operations. Armenian Economy Minister to make trip to UAE May 20-22 A delegation led by Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan will travel to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi on May 20-22 Armenia Security Council chief traveling to Qatar Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will travel on a working visit to Qatar. |