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UN rights chief alarmed by reported abuses
[Iraq Sun] As insurgents continue to overrun parts of northern Iraq, the United Nations human rights chief expressed "extreme alarm" today at reports of summary executions and extrajudicial killings, and the massive displacement of some half a million people, many of whom are now in urgent need of shelter.Tut tut. "The full extent of civilian casualties is not yet known," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said, "but reports suggest the number of people killed in recent days may run into the hundreds, and the number of wounded is said to be approaching 1,000." Ms. Pillay added that she was deeply disturbed by reports that fighters from the groups, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), and prisoners they had released from jails in Mosul and provided with arms "have been actively seeking out " and in some cases killing "soldiers, police and others, including civilians, whom they perceive as being associated with the Government." Under these circumstances, she said, "murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture constitute war crimes". She warned that ISIL would be under "particular scrutiny" given their "well-documented record of committing grave international crimes in Syria." Posted by: Fred 2014-06-14 |
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