ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Shiite militias supported by the Iraqi government have committed "possible war crimes" in Diyala province in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its latest report. “Again civilians are paying the price for Iraq's failure to rein in the out-of-control militias," claimed HRW's deputy Middle East director Joe Stork, in a statement Sunday. "Countries that support Iraqi security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces should insist that Baghdad bring an end to this deadly abuse," he added, referring to the Shiite militias that have been fighting alongside the Iraqi army. Following bombings claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) against Shiite militiamen in a cafe in the Diyala town of Muqdadiya more than a fortnight ago, HRW said that that Shiite militiamen proceeded to abduct and kill scores of Sunni residents in the town, many of them civilians, while also destroying their mosques, stores and homes. "The test for Iraq's legitimate judicial and security forces will be to bring the people responsible for these heinous attacks to justice in fair and public trials," Stork argued. "Progress on identifying the suspects and handing them over the judiciary should be an important marker for continued military support to Iraqi forces." The two dominant Shiite militia groups in Muqdadiya are the Iranian-backed Badr Organization militia and the so-called League of Righteous militia. By HRW's account at least a dozen people were killed in these recent attacks in the volatile province.
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