Amnesty International assures growing pattern of sectarian killings, abductions by ISIL

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A new briefing by Amnesty International sheds light on a growing pattern of sectarian killings and abductions by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) since the group seized Mosul, Iraq’s second-biggest city and other parts of north-western Iraq last month.

“Northern Iraq: Civilians in the line of fire”, published on Monday, contains harrowing accounts from displaced civilians who fled areas seized by ISIL, fearing for their lives after their relatives were abducted and killed by the group, and amid increasing danger from Iraqi government air strikes. “Once again, beleaguered civilians in Iraq find themselves trapped in a spiral of sectarian violence from all sides. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in terror of abductions and killings by ISIL and air strikes by government forces, as all sides are showing utter disregard for international humanitarian law,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser who has just returned from northern Iraq. Abductions have taken place in every town and village that has fallen under ISIL control. Many of those taken are still missing, others were found dead. Amnesty International interviewed relatives of an 18-year-old man from Gogjali, east of Mosul, and his 44-year-old uncle who were abducted at an ISIL checkpoint on June 20, 2014 and later murdered. The boy’s mother found their mutilated bodies two days later. She showed Amnesty International photographs of the bodies; their heads had been smashed with heavy objects and their hands were cuffed behind their backs. One had had his throat cut and his body was partially burned. The family, from the Shia Shabak community, fled Gogjali immediately after. “Such atrocious assaults on civilians have sent a clear message to non-Sunni communities that they are not safe in areas controlled by ISIL,” said Rovera. /End/