Daesh using '8,000 families as human shields' in Mosul

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

Daesh has forced tens of thousands of people to relocate to Mosul and has abducted 8,000 families to use as human shields in the city in its efforts to thwart the ongoing military operation, the UN warned Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said: Daesh "has been forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes in sub-districts around Mosul and have forcibly relocated numbers of civilians inside the city itself since operations began on Oct. 17 to restore Iraqi government’s control over Mosul.

"Many of these individuals were killed for refusing to comply with ISIL's (Daesh) order. At least 5,370 families were abducted by Daesh from Shura sub-district, another 160 families from al-Qayyarah sub-district, 150 families from Hamam al-Alil sub-district and 2,210 families from Nimrud sub-district of al-Hamdaniya district."

Two weeks ago, the Iraqi army, backed by a U.S.-led air coalition, launched a wide-ranging operation aimed at retaking Mosul, Daesh’s last stronghold in northern Iraq.

Daesh captured Mosul -- Iraq’s second largest city -- in mid-2014 before overrunning additional territory in the country’s northern and western regions.

While the Iraqi army and its local allies have since recovered much territory, the terror group remains in control of Mosul and several parts of western Anbar province.