Since 2003, when the Kurds occupied the settlements of the Yazidis in the disputed territories of Northern Iraq, the Yazidis were undergoing a process of Kurdification by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).[17][18] According to a report by Human Rights Watch, the Kurdish authorities have used heavy-handed tactics against the Yazidis and some Yazidis were kidnapped and beaten by the KRG.[19]