Islamic State
forces in Iraq have abducted "tens of thousands" of men, women and
children from areas around Mosul and are using them as human shields in the
city as
Iraqi government troops advance, the U.N. human rights office said on
Friday.
The
ultra-hardline Sunni militants, known as ISIL, killed at least 232 people on
Wednesday, including 190 former Iraqi security forces (ISF) and 42 civilians
who refused to obey their orders, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina
Shamdasani said.
"Credible
reports suggest that ISIL has been forcing tens of thousands of people from
their homes in sub-districts around Mosul and have forcibly relocated numbers
of civilians inside the city itself since the operation began on the 17th of
October to restore Iraqi government control over Mosul," Shamdasani told a
briefing.
Nearly 8,000
families, of roughly six people each, were abducted in sub-districts including
Shura, she said.
"ISIL's
depraved cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilian
hostages to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from
military operations, effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and
children as human shields," Shamdasani said.
"Many of
those who refused to comply were shot on the spot," she said.
The reports,
corroborated by the U.N., were "by no means comprehensive but indicative
of violations", she added.
Iranian-backed
Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary groups are about to launch an offensive on Islamic
State positions west of Mosul, assisting in the military campaign to take back
the city, a spokesman said on Friday.
U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has voiced deep concern at
reports that some individuals in the areas south of Mosul have "embarked
on revenge killings and have vowed on television that there would be
'eye-for-eye' revenge against those who sided with ISIL", Shamdasani said.
Some villagers
have also been prevented from returning to their villages due to their
perceived support of ISIL, she said.
Reuters
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