CNN: Teen Who Escaped ISIS: 'My Friends were Raped'

CNN: Teen Who Escaped ISIS: 'My Friends were Raped'

This article originally appeared at CNN:

Dohuk, Iraq (CNN) — “Aria” is only 15, smiling as she greets and welcomes us into her family’s tent inside the Khanke refugee camp in northwest Iraq.

Her parents sit nearby. Their faces, with their weathered skin and deep lines, speak of a difficult life that has just become much harder. Blankets and mattresses are stacked up on one side, except for a few that we sit on while a small fan gently whirls, creating a slight breeze in the stifling heat.

The refugee camp, outside the town of Duhok, was created just last month by the UNHCR for the massive influx of Yazidis fleeing their homes in Sinjar from the ISIS onslaught.

I ask Aria if she will tell us her story. She nods and then looks at her elderly parents and asks them to leave the tent. She doesn’t want them to hear what she’s about to say.

Six weeks ago the family piled into their neighbor’s car in the early morning hours.

They heard ISIS was coming and they were desperately trying to escape from their home in Sinjar. They got on the road, but a convoy of vehicles with black flags flying drove past them. They thought they had got away until minutes later when at least seven ISIS vehicles appeared on the road, surrounding them.

“They forced us out of the car,” said Aria. “The girls and women were separated from the men including my 19-year-old brother. But they only took the girls forcing us into a minivan.”

Read the full story at CNN.

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