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Protection of civlians must be at center of military action in Iraq, UN relief chief says

Xinhua, November 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN relief chief, Stephen O'Brien, said that he was deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Mosul as fighting reaches the city, saying that the protection of civilians must be at the center of military action in Iraq, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Tuesday.

O'Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, renewed his call on all parties to place the protection of civilians at the centre of all military action, and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Civilians who want to leave the conflict zone must be allowed to do so and access protection and assistance in safer areas."

"With fighting now ongoing inside Mosul city, the humanitarian community repeats its call for adherence to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians," Dujarric said.

More than 17,900 people are so far recorded as internally displaced since Oct. 17 due to the ongoing Mosul operations, he noted. "A significant increase is anticipated in the coming days, as a result of the fighting reaching Mosul neighborhoods and opening routes for civilians to escape, as well as continued hostilities in the surrounding areas."

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Office also has further reports of mass killings by Da'esh, known as the Islamic State (IS), he said.

On Saturday, 40 former Iraqi Security Force soldiers were killed and their bodies thrown in the Tigris River, he said. "They were reportedly among the civilians who had been abducted earlier from al-Shura sub-district of Mosul and from villages surrounding Hamam al-Alil."

Iraqi security forces recaptured more villages last week from the IS militants, as part of a major offensive aimed at liberating the city of Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq, a security source said.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Enditem