Kawa Omer

More Yazidis in Iraq Returning Home After Years of Displacement

Families who fled Islamic State group violence in 2014 are coming back to hometown of Sinjar, Iraq

A Day in the Life of a Kurdish Refugee Boy

In October of 2019, Turkish military forces rolled into northern Syria and took over large areas of land inhabited by Kurds. The offensive created 300-thousand refugees many of whom moved towards autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq. This is the story of one such refugee, seven-year-old Hawas Mesud and his life in Bardarash refugee camp in northern Iraq.

Kurdish Engineer Finds His Passion Making Toys in Post-IS Mosul

Residents of Mosul, one of the last major strongholds of the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq, used to live in constant fear. Creativity and free thought were discouraged, as was education. So doing something you were passionate about was unheard of. But a young Kurdish engineer had other ideas. He believed it was his duty to capture what life was like in Mosul during ISIS's reign. As reporter Kawa Omer reports, his outlet was making toys and small models. Bezhan Hamdard narrates.

Young Candidates Want a Chance to be Elected to Iraqi Parliament

Iraqis will head to polling stations this weekend for the first parliamentary elections since Iraqi forces drove Islamic State militants out of the country. In Nineveh Province (Mosul), young politicians are injecting new excitement into a crowded field of candidates, pleading with Iraqi voters to give them a chance. Kawa Omer filed this report from Mosul.

Images from Mosul after Islamic State

Mosul Snapshots

Images from Mosul

Yazidis Mark Second Anniversary of Islamic State Massacre

At least 5,000 Yazidis were killed during 2014 attack on Sinjar, Iraq; UN says religious minority continues to suffer at hands of IS

Syrian Nurse Aids Patients on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar

A female nurse from Syria is caring for the sick and wounded in Iraq’s Kurdish region despite a constant threat from the Islamic State group’s militant extremists. VOA’s Kawa Omer reports that Khansa Ali works in a clinic on Mount Sinjar, treating patients including Peshmerga fighters and members of the Yazidi religious minority group.