ISIS appears to be using tens of thousands of people as “human shields” in and around Mosul, where Iraqi forces are waging a large-scale offensive aimed at retaking the city. The UN human rights office has received reports of more than 200 people being killed for either refusing to comply with ISIS orders or belonging to Iraqi security forces previously.
“ISIL is attempting to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas, or military forces immune from military operations, effectively using women, men, and children as human shields,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in Geneva.
The group has massacred assumed opponents on several occasions, and is widely believed to be rooting out anyone who could potentially rise up against it, focusing on Iraqis with military training or past links to security forces.
The UN office said civilians from across the region south of Mosul were being herded into Hamam al-Alil, a militant-held town where the population has more than doubled to 60,000 since the forced displacement began. Here, the militants separated former members of the security forces from women and children, and took both groups onward to Mosul. The UN stated 190 former security forces were killed at the Ghazlani military base on the southern edge of Mosul, and 42 civilians were killed at another base for refusing to join.
The US military, which is providing airstrikes and ground support for the operation, said it tried to disrupt the forced displacement of civilians south of Mosul earlier this week by striking militant vehicles being used in the operation. “We were able to do that without harming any civilians and we verified we were able to degrade their planned use of those vehicles,” US Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Isler told The Associated Press. “The forced displacement is another example of the group’s atrocities.”
With all that being said, ISIS could still pose a serious threat to Israel. While ISIS typically targets area’s where there is a political void (which Israel clearly does not have), ISIS is still inching their way closer and closer to Israel as situations continue to escalate within the Middle East.
Originally posted at Ynet News. PHOTO BY: AFP
