Additionally, the YPG, YPJ and the PKK were involved in an August 2014 military operation at Mount Sinjar, where up to as many as 10,000 Yazidis were rescued from genocide at the hands of ISIL. ISIL had taken control of most areas around Mount Sinjar after pushing out the Peshmerga. Because ISIL views the Yazidis as a community of devil worshipers, those formerly inhabiting the town of Sinjar were forced to flee into the mountains. This left many Yazidis, including children and the elderly, without food, shelter, or resources. Those still in the town were either massacred by ISIL or forced into sexual slavery.