Daesh executed 741 civilians during Mosul liberation battle: UN
The United Nations says members of Daesh Takfiri terrorist group executed 741 civilians during a nine-month military campaign by Iraqi army forces and pro- government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units to retake the strategic northern city of Mosul from the extremists.
The UN rights office, in a report released on Thursday, said that a total of 2,521 civilians were killed, mostly by Daesh attacks, during the battle, accusing the terrorists of perpetrating “international crimes” in Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad.
“Those responsible must answer for their heinous crimes,” said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over Daesh extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country.
In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha’abi, had made sweeping gains against Daesh.
The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.
The UN rights office also emphasized on Thursday that it had compiled witness testimonies documenting “mass abductions of civilians, the use of thousands as human shields, the intentional shelling of civilian residences, and indiscriminate targeting of civilians trying to flee Mosul.”
More than 800,000 people were displaced by the fighting, it pointed out.
Violence claimed 114 Iraqi lives in October: UN
Latest figures released by the United Nations show that acts of terrorism and violence left more than one hundred people dead in Iraq in October as Iraqi forces were trying to expel Daesh terrorist from their last bastions in the country.
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 114 Iraqi civilians lost their lives and 244 others were injured last month.
The worst-affected area, with the highest number of casualties, was the capital province of Baghdad, where violence took the lives of 39 civilians and left 139 others wounded.
The troubled western province of Anbar saw 36 deaths and 55 injuries. Eighteen people also died and 33 others were wounded in Iraq’s oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk.
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