Civilians fleeing ISIL-held Fallujah face abuse, execution
Abu Mohammed al-Dulaimi finally made it out of Fallujah this week.
“I tried three times to flee the city and was forced to go back,” the father of six said. Islamic State “militants captured me with a few men and humiliated us. They said to us: ‘You are women. You want to run away.’ ”
Al-Dulaimi and his family escaped to Iraqi forces who have been clearing hundreds of improvised exploding devices from the roads since the battle to regain control of the embattled city began two weeks ago. Government troops pushed into southern Fallujah on Wednesday, the first time in more than two years.
The Islamic State doesn’t stop at harassing Fallujah residents who try to flee. The extremist group, also known as ISIL or ISIS, executes people deemed deserters, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Many Iraqis were shot as they attempted to flee across the Euphrates River, the council said.
“Our biggest fears are confirmed: Armed groups directly target civilians fleeing,” the council said in a statement.
It may not be just the Islamic State harming civilians. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al- Hussein said eyewitnesses reported that armed groups supporting Iraqi security forces detained men and teenage boys leaving Fallujah in a manner that “degenerates” into abuse. He was referring to Shiite militias helping Iraqi troops liberate the predominantly Sunni city.
“There are extremely distressing, credible reports that some people who survive the terrifying experience of escaping from ISIL, then face severe physical abuse once they reach the other side,” he said this week in a statement.
Last month, Amnesty International alleged that Iraqi forces held more than 1,000 detainees, often without charges, in horrible conditions in Anbar province, where Fallujah is located.