Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - April 3, 2025 Approximately 300 Ezidis gathered at the sacred Lalish Temple in Duhok, Iraq on Thursday, April 3, to extract oil from the harvested olives. Olive oil is used in religious rituals and holiday as well as for lighting the 365 olive-oil lamps in the Lalish Temple. Estimates put the total Ezidi population across the world at nearly 700,000 people. They are concentrated in northern Iraq but also live in countries like Syria and Türkiye. The terrorist group PKK managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Ezidi community from Daesh/ISIS terrorists. In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.