Sinjar’s newly elected mayor pledged to work closely with the Iraqi government to secure the Yazidi-majority town and ensure it does not fall under the influence of any political faction. Sidou Khairy Ahmed, a former Yazidi activist, was elected on 2 July by the Nineveh Provincial Council, which also appointed mayors for six other districts and 13 sub-districts. Ahmed’s election comes as Sinjar continues to recover from the devastating assault by the Islamic State group (IS) a decade ago. On 3 August 2014, IS militants launched a brutal attack on the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority in nor…