KRG rejects UN report accusing Peshmerga of killing children in fight against ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) welcomes transparent and objective reports but rejects accusations that the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces have killed children in the fight against the so-called Islamic State, Dindar Zebari, the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy, said earlier in the week in response to a recent United Nations report.

The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children (UNSRSG) published a report on Dec. 23, 2019, titled “Children and Armed Conflict in Iraq.” The report highlighted the condition of children who became victims of the Islamic State war between 2015 to 2019 in Iraq while providing the Iraqi government advice on how to protect these children who suffered under the influence of the extremist group. In the same report, the UN alleged that the Kurdish Peshmerga was responsible for killing children during the four-year fight against the Islamic State.

In a statement on Thursday refuting the claims, Zebari reaffirmed that the KRG “welcomes transparent and objective reports” about the autonomous government, but noted that “the sources of the UN report are ambiguous and the accusations on the Peshmerga forces are not backed by strong evidence.”

“The UN has not sought to liaise with the KRG officials to verify this information and to get accurate information in this regard,” Zebari added, stating that the “bold accusations” lack basis because “ISIS mass graves have not been excavated until now and the information regarding the victims’ number, the age ranges, and the time of the events is yet to be discovered.”

The Kurdish official also said the claims were made “without consideration to the fact that Kurds and Peshmerga forces were one of the biggest victims of ISIS cruelties.”

Indeed, the Kurdish forces served as the last line of defense on the ground against the terror group. Their efforts have received praise from various Western military officials and diplomats who have described the Peshmerga as the most efficient force in the fight against the Islamic State.

According to Zebari, since mid-2019, the KRG has captured 90 women, juveniles, and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State. These people have been detained in a rehabilitation center in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil.

Among the detainees, 50 male juveniles were convicted and 14 remained in detention, Zebari noted in his statement, adding that the rest were returned to their homes in the liberated areas. Furthermore, no complaints regarding the mistreatment of these miners were filed by the detainees as “torture in those detention centers was utterly prohibited.”

“ISIS-affiliate suspects are treated as victims not criminals and special care is provided for them in collaboration [with] INGOs,” the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy stated. “They are given legal rights and provided with legal support.”

“They also have all other rights such as family visits and using phones. In terms of education, a special program has been designed for them to ensure that they are not disconnected from education.”

Official data from the KRG indicates that 1,814 Peshmerga lost their lives in the fight against the Islamic State, and 10,725 were injured while 44 others were taken as hostages. Zebari stressed that these are “figures that the UN reports must have highlighted.”

“The KRG expresses its willingness to investigate into any violations to human rights as part of its long-standing commitment to the protection of rights of people from all demographics, backgrounds, and affiliations,” the Kurdish official concluded.  

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany