UN calls to investigate killing of IS captives by Iraqi troops in Mosul
A screenshot from a video circulated on social networks showing Iraqi troops torturing a purportedly Islamic State member.
“The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) calls on the Government of Iraq to investigate a video report circulating on social media sites which purportedly shows the brutal mistreatment and murder of at least three captured ISIL members in a retaken area between Intisar and Karma neighbourhoods of east Mosul at the hands of what appears to be Iraqi Security Forces Personnel,” read the statement by the organization late Sunday.
The victims featured in the video were struggling to convince the soldiers they had no links to the extremist group before they were executed with gun shooting, according to Anadolu Agency
The UN, rights groups and regional governments like Turkey and Saudi Arabia had previously voiced fears that Shia militias fighting on the government’s side were involved in human rights violations at areas recaptured from IS. But this is the first open call by the UN on the government to investigate violations by its own official troops.
The Iraqi government has regularly insisted its operations heeded the humanitarian aspect.
A campaign led by government forces, and backed by troops and advisers from a US-led coalition, has entered a third month to retake Mosul which fell to IS militants in 2014. Forces have almost recaptured the eastern section of the city and will move soon towards the IS-held west.