Isis in Iraq: UN report details ‘staggering’ violence, war crimes and ‘possible genocide’ in Iraq
A wide-reaching report finds at least 18,800 civilians have been killed in Iraq since 2014, while Isis is now understood to hold 3,500 people in slavery
The Isis jihadist group is holding as many as 3,500 people as slaves in its territories in Iraq alone, the UN has said, and continues to carry out a wide range of abuses against civilians that amount to “war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide”.
From the beginning of 2014, a new report said, at least 18,800 civilians have been killed in Iraq and more than 3.2 million people have been displaced.
According to the UN Assistance Mission in the country, those being held as slaves by Isis “are predominantly women and children and come primarily from the Yezidi community”, though they also include small numbers from other ethnic and religious minorities.
