Hashim Ilyas Silo (; 1944 – 18 August 1979, known as Mahmoud Ezidi, was a famous Yazidi Peshmerga fighter loyal to Kurdistan Democratic Party, who led many successful military confrontations against the regime of Ba'athist Iraq.
Prior to becoming a Peshmerga fighter in 1974, he had been conscripted in the Iraqi army at the age of 18, later becoming promoted to deputy officer due to his commitment to fulfilling his military duties and performing well in training. He secretly joined Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1963 and was a member from then on. In 1970, after the Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement, Mahmoud Ezidi revealed his allegiance with KDP, started being openly engaged and also established direct relations with other party cadres. In 1974, after the collapse of the 1970 Iraqi-Kurdish Autonomy Agreement and due to persecution by the Iraqi regime, Mahmoud Ezidi joined the Kurdish struggle and started serving in the rebel Peshmerga forces.
Biography
Early life
Mahmoud Ezidi was born in 1944 as Hashim Ilyas Silo in the village of Baadre in Shekhan district. He was from a poor family of the Hekarî tribe and attended primary school in 1951. He was an active pupil who obtained high marks in the first and second grades of primary school. However, due to the difficult living conditions of his family, he had to leave school to help his father with farming and earning a living. He lived with four brothers and four sisters. In 1962, after reaching the age of 18, he was enrolled in the Iraqi military to perform compulsory military service.
Political and Military career
Due to his commitment to the duties assigned to him and good performance in military training, Mahmoud Ezidi was promoted to the rank of deputy officer in the city of Najaf. However, he also joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party in secret in 1963 and was committed to carrying out party duties, handing out partisan literature and newspapers, and establishing partisan ties with high-ranking party cadres. He read a lot of pamphlets and books to arm himself with knowledge in political culture, military science and art.
In 1970, after the Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement, Mahmoud Ezidi revealed his allegiance with KDP, started being openly engaged and established more direct, open relations with other party cadres. In 1974, after the collapse of the agreement and due to persecution by the Iraqi regime, Mahmoud Ezidi partook in the Kurdish struggle and started serving in the Peshmerga.
After the collapse of the Kurdish National Liberation Movement as a result of the 1975 Algiers Agreement between Iran and Iraq which led to Iran abruptly ending its military support for the Kurdish Movement, many members of the KDP and Peshmerga started vacating the mountains of Kurdistan and sought refuge in Iran. From Iran, Mustafa Barzani continued to lead the Peshmerga forces in order to perpetuate the revolution. He sent a number of party members, including Mahmoud Ezidi, to Syria in order to prepare the Kurds there for the future resumption of the revolution.
After returning to Kurdistan, Mahmoud Ezidi secretly began to perform his political activities among the local masses, especially the Yazidi Kurds. In a short period, he was able to regather the former KDP members and cadres, and prepare them for the May Revolution (Şoreşa Gulanê) against the Iraqi regime, which started in 1975. He also successfully recruited many other Yazidis into the KDP ranks.
From 1976-1979, Mahmoud Ezidi and his comrades carried out many partisan activities such as distributing leaflets and launched attacks on regime locations including military positions and police centers or stations across many different territories in Kurdistan. On the night of 12 September 1976, Mahmoud Ezidi led a team of 15 Peshmerga, among them his fellow Yazidis, in an attack against a government military position located in Gali Qiyamate. They killed several regime soldiers and were successfully able to take control of the position. About a week later, he led another attack against military positions in the Bilkif and Mizury areas in Shekhan district, where one Peshmerga was captured after being wounded by regime soldiers.