Iraqi PM orders investigation of alleged abuses by Iraqi troops in Mosul
The Prime Minister of Iraq on Sunday ordered the formation of a committee to investigate reported abduction and abuse cases by Iraqi troops.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Prime Minister of Iraq on Sunday ordered the formation of a committee to investigate reported abduction and abuse cases by Iraqi troops in the Nineveh Province during the Mosul operation against the Islamic State (IS).
Recently, some videos circulating on social media showed Iraqi forces in uniforms abusing and insulting some people in Mosul, believed to be IS insurgents, before executing them.
In a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, he “stressed the importance of human rights” during the offensive to free the province of Nineveh in general and Mosul city in particular from IS.
The statement came after a call from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) to the federal government of Iraq on Saturday to investigate reports of torture and murder of arrested suspects in Mosul.
“UNAMI calls on the government of Iraq to investigate a video report circulating on social media sites,” the UNAMI statement said.
“[The video] purportedly shows the brutal mistreatment and murder of at least three captured [IS] members in a retaken area between Intisar and Karama neighborhoods of east Mosul at the hands of what appears to be Iraqi Security Forces Personnel,” the report continued.
Iraqi and Peshmerga forces launched the Mosul military operation on Oct. 17, 2016, from the east of the city.
The troops had since liberated almost all parts of eastern Mosul which are divided by the Tigris River.
The military offensive is ongoing, and the extremist group continues to shrink in the area.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
