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Human shields and the destruction of Sunni cities

February 22, 2017 at 10:07 am

Smoke rises as Iraqi security forces attack Daesh h in Mosul, Iraq on 20 February 2017 [Yunus Keleş/Anadolu Agency]

Under the umbrella of the war against Daesh and other groups which are classified as terrorist organisations in Iraq and Syria, the majority of Sunni cities have been destroyed. Thousands of Sunni civilians have been killed although the international community had claimed that the intention was to save them from the barbaric terrorists, who have been using civilians as human shields.

This is common when it comes to how “just wars” are viewed, where the killing of civilians is justified because they are considered to be “collateral damage” that cannot be avoided. It is an example of extreme values.

All of the countries involved in the war against Daesh are using human shields to justify their random and indiscriminate shelling. The US and its allies, for instance, as well as the Iraqi government, continue to justify the fall of civilians in Mosul, Takrit, Fallujah and Ramadi. This has been the case in other cities as well where the killing of civilians is seen as a necessary evil.

The use of human shields has been a common element in the Syrian context too, by the US and its allies, and the so-called democratic Syrian powers in Raqqa. This has been the case in Operations Euphrates Wrath and the Turkish-led Euphrates Shield. One must also note the actions of Assad’s allies, Russia and Iran, who have turned Syrian cities and their residents into rubble.

It is also possible to accuse the settler-colonial state of Israel, which enjoys unlimited US political and military support, of using human shields in its many offensives against the Palestinian people. While the use of human shields is justified as collateral damage in the liberation of the rest of the population from the grip of terrorist groups, in Israel’s case, all Palestinians are viewed as human shields held hostage by terrorists. It is in this way that every Palestinian civilian is transformed into a potential target. In order to further the justification, places of refuge and hospitals are then described as terrorist haunts, weapon stores and missile launching pads.

With the pressure to achieve quick victories against Daesh, the Sunni cities in both Iraq and Syria are due to be turned into rubble under the pretext of this “just war” against terrorism. These are terms used by Talal Asad in his book On Suicide Bombings when he discussed the prosecution of wars of this nature, which justify the elevated morality of those waging the war and the absolute inhumanity of the terrorists. Asad argues that the lines between civilians and combatants are now erased.

Despite there being internationally recognised boundaries and rules of war, “collateral damage” is a term which is also used to cover-up war crimes. Asad cites former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who, when asked about the 500,000 Iraqi children killed by war and sanctions replied, “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.”

The wars that are taking place in Sunni cities far exceed the international laws of war, as they pertain to these wasted “wars on terrorism”. There is neither an ethical preamble nor structure for treaties. The whole of the civilian population is treated like a group of bystanders and is thus transformed into human shields.

Under international humanitarian law, human shields are defined as prisoners of war who are used to prevent attacks on military sites. Human shields are placed in railway stations, airports and any other location where there are legitimate threats against military targets. These actions are deemed illegal under international law and international humanitarian law.

The launching of military operations from civilian sites, particularly schools, hospitals, places of religious worship and civilian neighbourhoods, is also illegal. Industrial areas are forbidden as well in this context due to the inevitable transformation of civilians into human shields.

Article 28 of the Geneva Convention states that the exploitation of any individual civilian for military purposes is prohibited, no matter how likely it is that his or her presence can be used to facilitate military operations. The first draft of the additional protocol from 1977 (of the 51st amendment) states: “The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.”

In addition, it is strictly prohibited to transfer civilian populations in order to prevent attacks on military sites or to cover military operations. The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) classified the use of human shields as a war crime.

It is no wonder that we continue to hear of the use of human shields in the war against Daesh; the majority of the battles in question are, after all, taking place in overcrowded, urban areas. The global war against the extremists under the pretext of the war on terror is also being used to kill Sunnis in such a way so that it would be difficult to claim that international law is being violated.

There are those who want to claim that indiscriminate shelling is legitimate, giving war specific attributes that are contrary to the essence of morality and justice. In the context of the war against Daesh, the parties involved want to appear as if they are following the rules of international law in the face of barbarians; the enemies of civilisation, who have used civilians as human shields.

Translated from Arabi21, 19 February, 2017

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.