Iraqi Shi'ite militia, armed and supported by the Iraqi government, have been committing war crimes and abducting and murdering "scores" of Sunni men in retaliation for attacks by the Sunni-led Islamic State (IS), Amnesty International (AI) said Oct. 14. In a briefing, AI reports that the militia face complete impunity for their actions over the last few months. "Absolute Impunity: Militia Rule in Iraq" depicts accounts of civilians taken from their homes, workplaces and at checkpoints, later found to be bound and shot, mostly execution-style and often after the victim's family paid a hefty ransom. According to AI many of the abductees are still unaccounted for, months after their disappearance. AI holds the Iraqi government responsible for the "serious human rights abuses, including war crimes, committed by these militias."
From Jurist, Oct. 14. Used with permission
Mass graves in Anbar
Scores of bodies, believed to be Sunni tribesmen killed by ISIS, were found in mass graves in Iraq's Anbar governorate. The graves may contain more than 200 bodies. Many of the dead belong to the Al Bu Nimr tribe, which joined Iraq's government in fighting ISIS.
It has also emerged that ISIS may have killed 600 prisoners at a jail in Mosul they seized in June. The Shi'ite inmates were forced to kneel along the edge of a ravine before being shot, the campaign group Human Rights Watch said. (Jurist, Oct. 31; BBC News, Oct. 30)