ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Thursday that he holds Amnesty International responsible for “endangering the security” of Mosul citizens by publishing “false information” regarding “unlawful killings” in some liberated areas around the city.
“The president of the council of ministers Dr. Haider al-Abadi expressed his surprise about the Amnesty International report concerning killings that happened in Mosul and conveyed false information that it was the government forces,” a post on the official Facebook page of Abadi read on Thursday.
“The truth is that they were local residents who killed Daesh militants.”
The Iraqi prime minister said reports like this make Mosul residents flee their homes.
The Amnesty International report stated, “Researchers from the organization visited several villages in the al-Shura and al-Qayyara sub-districts of Ninewa governorate, south-west and south of Mosul, and gathered evidence indicating that up to six people were extrajudicially executed in late October, apparently due to suspicions they had ties to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS).”
“The Iraqi authorities must urgently investigate reports that fighters wearing Iraqi Federal Police uniforms tortured and extrajudicially executed residents in villages they captured south of Mosul,” added the report, which was published Thursday.
“Deliberately killing captives and other defenceless individuals is prohibited by international humanitarian law and is a war crime.”
The Iraqi federal police issued a statement earlier on Thursday denying the allegations.
The Iraqi government, through leaflets dropped on the city, has urged civilians to remain in their homes as much as possible during the offensive to retake Mosul.
“We hold the organization fully responsible for any displacement because these reports instill fear among the citizens, as we also hold them responsible for endangering the security of the citizens from any threat,” Abadi said of Amnesty International’s report.
His remarks were made in a meeting with the members of parliament from Nineveh province, members of the Provincial Council of Nineveh, and its governor.
“The president of the council of ministers Dr. Haider al-Abadi expressed his surprise about the Amnesty International report concerning killings that happened in Mosul and conveyed false information that it was the government forces,” a post on the official Facebook page of Abadi read on Thursday.
“The truth is that they were local residents who killed Daesh militants.”
The Iraqi prime minister said reports like this make Mosul residents flee their homes.
The Amnesty International report stated, “Researchers from the organization visited several villages in the al-Shura and al-Qayyara sub-districts of Ninewa governorate, south-west and south of Mosul, and gathered evidence indicating that up to six people were extrajudicially executed in late October, apparently due to suspicions they had ties to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS).”
“The Iraqi authorities must urgently investigate reports that fighters wearing Iraqi Federal Police uniforms tortured and extrajudicially executed residents in villages they captured south of Mosul,” added the report, which was published Thursday.
“Deliberately killing captives and other defenceless individuals is prohibited by international humanitarian law and is a war crime.”
The Iraqi federal police issued a statement earlier on Thursday denying the allegations.
The Iraqi government, through leaflets dropped on the city, has urged civilians to remain in their homes as much as possible during the offensive to retake Mosul.
“We hold the organization fully responsible for any displacement because these reports instill fear among the citizens, as we also hold them responsible for endangering the security of the citizens from any threat,” Abadi said of Amnesty International’s report.
His remarks were made in a meeting with the members of parliament from Nineveh province, members of the Provincial Council of Nineveh, and its governor.
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