The battleground between ISIS and a US-led coalition outside the Iraqi city of Mosul
Photo: AFP
UN claims ISIS seizes 550 families as human shields in Mosul
As a US-led coalition attempts to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS, the United Nations issued a statement on Friday, claiming that the terrorist group has once again taken to using civilians as protection against attacks.
ISIS militants have taken 550 families from villages around Mosul and are holding them close to ISIS locations in the Iraqi city, probably as human shields, the UN human rights office said on Friday.
"There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated."
"We are gravely worried by reports that ISIL (another acronym for ISIS) is using civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance, keeping civilians close to their offices or places where fighters are located, which may result in civilian casualties," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said in a statement.
The battleground between ISIS and a US-led coalition outside the Iraqi city of Mosul (Photo: AFP)
Iraqi and Kurdish forces, with air and ground support from the US-led coalition, are pursuing operations to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the jihadists' last major stronghold in Iraq.
UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani, citing "verified information" from local contacts, said 200 families were forced to walk to Mosul from Samalia village on 17 October, and another 350 families left Najafia village for Mosul on the same day.
"This would seem to indicate that the reason for these moves is to use them for the purposes of human shields," she said.
The office was also investigating "corroborated information" that ISIS militants had killed 40 civilians in one village outside Mosul. She declined to give details.
Zeid said that Iraq must respect international law when screening civilians leaving areas controlled by ISIS, a job that should only be done by army and police.
"We are urging the Iraqi authorities to take all possible steps to prevent armed groups operating alongside the Iraqi Security Forces from any form of revenge attack on civilians fleeing ISIL," he said.
"This issue remains a serious concern as these groups have reportedly subjected people fleeing conflict zones, particularly men and boys above 15 years of age, to threats, intimidation, physical violence, and even abduction and killing," he said.
