The tenth installment of Minority Groups International's Peoples Under Threat Index came out recently, and pretty unsurprisingly, it highlighted several groups from the Middle East.
Deemed most "at risk," these are places where violence is already underway and includes groups of people who are increasingly under the threat of genocide, systematic violence and mass killing. Three out of the top twelve are from the MENA region.
Syria 1/12 — Political targets, Shi’a/Alawis, Christians, Kurds, Palestinians most at risk
More than 200,000 people have been killed so far over the conflict's four-year span, while up to half the population has been forced from their homes. Violence stems from government shellings, as well as that perpetrated by militias spanning Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, pro-government militias called Shabiha, and of course, the extremist group we've all come to know so well — Daesh (ISIS).
Iraq 5/12 — Shia, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, Mandaeans, Yezidis, Shabak, Faili Kurds, Bahá’í, Palestinians
In 2006, the country topped the Peoples at Risk Index chart, and today, things haven't improved much. An uptick in violence in 2013 carried into what many analysts consider the worst year for the war-torn country — 2014. Over 14,000 people were killed there last year as Daesh tore through Iraq in July.
Yemen 11/12 — Zaydi Shi’a, Sunni tribes, al-Muhamasheen, Southerners
As Saudi airstrikes pound areas across the country and Shiite Houthi rebels carry out indiscriminate violence of their own, al-Qaeda militants in the Arabian Peninsula are carrying out deadly attacks of their own. This is a multi-faceted power struggle where, as usual, the civilians are left the most harmed. In Saudi Arabia's air raids alone, at least 135 children have been killed so far, according to the UN.
