Mortar fire kills 11 including aid workers in Iraq's Mosul: UN
BAGHDAD, Dec 22, 2016 (AFP) - Mortar fire killed 11 people including four aid workers as civilians gathered to receive assistance in the battleground Iraqi city of Mosul, the United Nations said on Thursday.
Iraqi forces launched
an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul, the country's last city held by the
Islamic State jihadist group, and have retaken part of its eastern side, but
these areas are still exposed to deadly artillery attacks, bombs and gunfire.
"According to
initial reports, four aid workers and at least seven civilians queueing for
emergency assistance in eastern Mosul city have been killed by indiscriminate
mortar fire," Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said in a
statement.
"Within the last
48 hours, there have been two separate incidents" that also wounded up to
40 people, Grande said.
"People waiting
for aid are already vulnerable and need help. They should be protected, not
attacked," she said, adding: "The killing of civilians and aid
workers violates every humanitarian principle."
Mahmud al-Sorchi, a
spokesman for volunteer fighters from Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the
capital, said mortar fire had killed aid workers from a local organisation
called Faz3a.
A post on a Facebook
page identified as belonging to an aid organisation called Faz3a said that
mortar fire and a roadside bomb in Mosul had killed six of its members.
The UN announcement
came a day after Human Rights Watch said that IS was
"indiscriminately" attacking civilians who refused to retreat along
with the jihadists in Mosul.
"Residents said
(IS) members told them in person, by radio, and over mosque loudspeakers that
those who stayed behind were 'unbelievers' and therefore valid targets along
with the Iraqi and coalition forces," the rights group said.
The jihadists have
targeted civilians with mortars, explosives and gunfire, HRW said.
Amnesty International
highlighted the impact of the Mosul conflict on children, saying they were
exposed to injury or death, in addition to witnessing horrific violence.
"Children caught
in the crossfire of the brutal battle for Mosul have seen things that no one,
of any age, should ever see," Amnesty's Donatella Rovera said.
More than 100,000
people have been displaced since the battle for Mosul began more than two
months ago, but the Iraqi government has encouraged civilians to stay in their
homes if possible.
This keeps the number
of people from fleeing from reaching the catastrophic proportions estimated by
some aid organisations before the Mosul operation began, but also exposes
civilians to significantly more danger than they would face if they moved to
camps.
Iraq's elite
counter-terrorism service punched into Mosul from the east, but progress has
since slowed and the battle is far from over.
Forces that made a long
advance toward Mosul on the southern front have yet to enter the city, as have
those on the northern side.
The immediate area
around western Mosul remains open on the ground, though forces from
pro-government paramilitary groups have advanced close to the town of Tal Afar,
between Mosul and the Syrian border.
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