Clashes shake edge of Mosul’s Old City
Group claims all sides broke international law
MOSUL, Iraq — Airstrikes, shelling and other heavy clashes shook a small sliver of western Mosul on Tuesday in renewed fighting, a day after the government declared victory over Islamic State militants in Iraq’s second-largest city.
Amnesty International proclaimed the battle for Mosul a “civilian catastrophe,” with more than 5,800 noncombatants killed in the western part of the city. The top U.S. commander in Iraq rejected the group’s allegations, however, that the U.s.-led coalition violated international law.
In a sign that IS militants were still holding out in the shattered Old City, plumes of smoke rose as mortar shells landed near Iraqi troop positions and heavy gunfire rang out. Airstrikes pounded the edge of the neighborhood west of the Tigris River.
On Monday, Prime Minister Haider al-abadi declared “total victory” in Mosul.
The militants overran the northern city in summer 2014, when the extremists seized territory across Iraq and Syria. The campaign by Iraqi forces and the coalition to retake the city killed thousands of people and displaced nearly 900,000.
A statement late Monday from IS said its fighters were still attacking Iraqi troops in the al-maydan area of Mosul’s Old City.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the coalition will continue to support its Iraqi partners.
In its report, Amnesty International alleged that all sides in the conflict violated international law. IS fighters carried out forced displacement and summary killings, as well as using civilians as human shields.
The Iraqi forces and the coalition “continued to use imprecise, explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated urban environments,” Amnesty said, adding that some violations might constitute war crimes.
At a briefing Tuesday in Washington, Townsend rejected the allegation that international law was violated by the coalition.
“I would challenge the people from Amnesty International or anyone else out there who makes these charges to first research their facts and make sure they’re speaking from a position of authority,” Townsend said.