ISIL blamed for slaughter in Mosul
Jihadi fighters using civilians as human shields against approaching Iraqi forces
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has reportedly massacred hundreds of men and boys in Mosul as fears grow that families are being used as human shields against approaching Iraqi-led forces.
The jihadist group rounded up and shot 284 men and boys before dumping their bodies in a mass grave in northern Mosul, according to eyewitnesses.
They were reportedly lined up and shot on the grounds of a former agricultural college, where young Iraqis were once taught how to grow food in their country’s punishing climate, and then buried by a bulldozer.
The alleged massacre came after the United Nations voiced fears for 550 families who had been seized from nearby villages this week and marched into Mosul.
“We are gravely worried by reports that ISIL is using civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance, keeping civilians close to their offices or places where fighters are located, which may result in civilian casualties,” Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
“There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields, but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated.”
Ravina Shamdasani, a UN spokesman citing “verified information” from local contacts, said 200 families were forced to walk to Mosul from Samalia village on Oct. 17, while another 350 families left Najafia village for Mosul the same day.
“This would seem to indicate the reason for these moves is to use them for the purposes of human shields,” she said.
Meanwhile, toxic fumes released when jihadists torched a sulphur plant earlier this week killed two Iraqi civilians and forced US troops at a nearby base to wear masks.