ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The governor of Anbar Suhaib al-Rawi came out with a damning report on Saturday on killings, torture and imprisonment of Fallujah civilians by members of the Iraqi Shiite militia who are backing government troops in the battle, adding that the city is being unjustifiably destroyed.
“Iraqi troops continue their advance into Fallujah but with it images of inhumane acts and abuse have come out perpetrated by some armed groups that is sectarian in every sense,” al-Rawi told Rudaw. “These actions have tainted and affected the overall operations.”
The governor added that these images of abuse have frightened the people of Fallujah who are trapped in the city between Islamic State (ISIS) rule on one side and daily bombardment on the other.
Al-Rawi claimed that the actions of the Shiite militia include all types of abuse and violation, which his teams have gathered from escapees and survivor accounts.
“Through testimonies of survivors and those who were detained by Hashd al-Shabi (Shiite militia) we gathered that the abuses include assassinations, killings, torture and forceful lock-up.”
He explained that on orders of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi investigative teams have been formed to gather testimonies and follow up on all cases of abuse in order to submit an official account to the prime minister, parliament, president and human rights organizations.
“The report will have the names of the missing and detained, their locations and types of violations,” he said.
Iraqi troops launched an offensive two weeks ago to wrest control of Fallujah from ISIS and footage of arrest, torture and abuse of fleeing civilians by members of the Shiite militia have since circulated social media websites.
The governor said that in addition to abuse, massacres have also taken place and many people have gone missing after making it alive out of Fallujah.
“We don’t still know the fate of many people,” al-Rawi reported. “And the number of dead has reached five up to now who died under torture by the Hashd al-Shabi.”
He maintained that it would be difficult to come up with an accurate figure of victims due to the intense battle, but revealed that “a massacre was perpetrated in Sichir where 17 people were killed and we have verified this through testimonies of survivors.”
Many hundreds of people have risked capture and subsequent punishment by ISIS to flee the city and reach safety through corridors designated by the army in the lead up to the battle. But the United Nations and other organizations believe that up to 90,000 people are still stranded in the city.
Al-Rawi who personally led some of the battle for Ramadi last December, now has a team investigating the whereabouts of many detained and missing civilians.
He condemned their imprisonment as unjustified, calling for their hand over from the Shiite militia to the Anbar police to answer for possible affiliation with ISIS.
According to the governor an amalgam of army troops, Anbar police, anti-terrorism squad, Shiite militia and Sunni tribes are pushing for the city, who he criticized for the unnecessary use of heavy weapons, citing as an example massive destruction in the Saqlawiya suburb.
“The battle is intense and destructive weapons are being used,” he complained. “There was huge destruction in Saqlawiya which is not really necessary.”
Al-Rawi believes that government troops are “more reasonable” whom he said have entered some southern sections of the city with backing from coalition air strikes.
“Civilians have nothing to do with ISIS and in fact they are waiting to be rid of these criminal gangsters,” he said in defense of Fallujah residents who have been under ISIS for more than two years.
