UNAMI investigates human rights abuses in Khurmatu
A UNAMI team will visit Khurmatu for a second time in the coming days as they were prevented from visiting the Kurdish areas on their first visit.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) announced that it has already launched an investigation on human rights abuses against the residents of Khurmatu
A team from the UNAMI Human Rights Office visited Khurmatu on December 7 to investigate reports of houses being demolished, in particular, the homes of people who fled the town due to clashes that erupted in the region in October. They are also looking into reports of threats which are preventing the safe return of displaced people.
The UNAMI team visited several areas in Khurmatu and met officials there while another group met with the representative of Khurmatu's displaced people in Erbil.
The statement added that another UNAMI team is expected to revisit Khurmatu in the coming days to further examine allegations made by the town's Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
It was reported last week that Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias prevented the UNAMI team from visiting the Kurdish neighborhoods of Khurmatu.
The statement referred to the speech by Head of UNAMI, Ján Kubiš, at the UN Security Council where he expressed concerns over the violence witnessed in Khurmatu that resulted in casualties and created a new wave of displacement where a majority were Kurds.
“UNAMI asks for the immediate halt of acts that threaten the security and safety of Kurdish and Turkmen communities and other civilians,” the statement read.
UNAMI urged the Iraqi government to limit violence and human rights abuses, and ensure calm and stability prevail in Khurmatu. They also asked to help facilitate the return of the IDPs to their normal lives in the city, district and all surrounding areas.
Shallal Abdul, the Mayor of Khurmatu, in a press conference on Monday said that documented evidence that has been collected provides proof of crimes committed against the town’s Kurdish community, stating that those abuses constitute a war crime.
On Oct.16, Iraqi forces along with Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias took over Kirkuk Province and other disputed territories, including the town of Khurmatu.
The attack led to the displacement of 180,000 people in the affected areas, roughly 70,000 of them from Khurmatu, who feared abuses and violations at the hand of the militia groups.
Editing by Nadia Riva