UN calls for investigation over human rights abuse in Iraq

The United Nations has urged the Iraqi government to investigate abuse by its soldiers after a video, allegedly showing Iraqi soldiers torturing and killing individuals in Mosul suspected of affiliation with Daesh in recaptured areas of Mosul, was widely circulated in social networks.

A statement released on its website yesterday said: “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 Daesh 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,”.

The victims featured in the video were struggling to convince Iraqi soldiers that they had no links to the extremist group before they were executed reported Iraqi News.

Concerns over human rights violations in areas recaptured by Iraqi forces and Shia militias were persistently raised by the UN, rights groups and regional governments, notably Turkey and Saudi Arabia. However, this is the first time that the UN has called for an investigation into the human rights abuse.

A campaign led by government forces and Shia militias backed by a US-led coalition, has entered a third month of operations to retake Mosul, which fell to Daesh militants in 2014.