Daesh Violates Laws of War by Occupying Hospitals During Battle for Mosul
Daesh Violates Laws of War by Occupying Hospitals During Battle for Mosul
Sputnik International
Daesh terrorists have been repeatedly occupying medical facilities in Iraq, including the al-Salam hospital in Mosul, thus putting the lives of civilians and... 08.02.2017, Sputnik International
Daesh terrorists have been repeatedly occupying 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.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Daesh terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, 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.
Iraqi Army soldiers celebrate as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured during a military operation to regain control of a village outside Mosul, Iraq (File)
Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces arrive in an area south of Mosul, on October 22, 2016, during an operation to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. Mosul is the most populous city in the "caliphate" Baghdadi declared in June 2014, and the operation to recapture it is Iraq's largest in years. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP
Iraqi Army soldiers celebrate as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured during a military operation to regain control of a village outside Mosul, Iraq (File)
Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces arrive in an area south of Mosul, on October 22, 2016, during an operation to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. Mosul is the most populous city in the "caliphate" Baghdadi declared in June 2014, and the operation to recapture it is Iraq's largest in years. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP
The HRW found that Daesh militants 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. Fallujah General Hospital was occupied for several months until it was damaged by an airstrike on May 25, 2016. Daesh also 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 and US-led international coalition forces in late January 2017.
The military operation to retake Mosul started in October last year and is continuing.
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