Battle for Mosul: Daesh Violates Laws of War, Occupies Hospitals
Local Editor
Daesh terrorists repeatedly occupied medical facilities in Iraq, including the al-Salam hospital in Mosul, thus putting the lives of civilians and medical personnel at risk and breaking laws of war during the battle for Mosul, a rights watchdog said Wednesday.
The Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIS/ISIL] terrorist organization violates the law of war under which medical facilities should not be occupied during military offensives. If a hospital is used for military purposes and becomes a target for attack, a warning must be made in advance.
"As the battle for Mosul unfolds, we are finding that ‘ISIS' [Daesh] is regularly occupying medical facilities and placing civilians and staff there at risk of incoming attacks," Human Rights Watch [HRW] Deputy Middle East Director Lama Fakih said.
The HRW found that Daesh terrorists had stationed themselves in hospitals before. They took a clinic in the town of Hammam al-Alil southeast of Mosul which was later hit by an airstrike.
The Fallujah General Hospital was also occupied for several months until it was damaged by an airstrike on May 25, 2016. Additionally, Daesh held offices in clinics of Qayyarah and Jadah south of Mosul during their stay in the towns.
Daesh is said to have had offices in the Republican, Ibn Sina, al-Salam and Mosul general hospitals, the HRW reported, citing a healthcare worker of the Hammam al-Alil clinic.
The eastern part of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, which was captured by Daesh in June 2014, was liberated from the terrorists by Iraqi forces in late January 2017.
The military operation to retake Mosul started in October last year and is still ongoing.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
Islamic Resistance in Iraq Targets “Eilat”
3 months ago
