BEIRUT—About 3,500 people are being held as slaves by Islamic State in Iraq, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday, one of the many horrors endured by civilians living under the extremist group’s rule.
“Despite their steady losses to pro-government forces, the scourge of ISIL continues to kill, maim and displace Iraqi civilians in the thousands and to cause untold suffering,” said Jan Kubis, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Iraq, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The report was produced by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is largely based on the personal testimonies of victims, survivors, Iraqi security forces and other witnesses.
Islamic State’s slaves are mostly women and children from the persecuted Yazidi sect, the report said. It recounted stories of women sold in Islamic State territories for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000 each.
Between 800 and 900 children were abducted by Islamic State and forced to train as fighters, the report found. Those aged 10 and under were forced into religious-training camps, while those aged 10-15 were trained as combatants.
Other atrocities included the execution of homosexual men, sometimes by throwing them off buildings, the report said.
Last October, the group beheaded two men and shot dead a 15-year-old who had attempted to escape an area under its control.
Nearly 19,000 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 36,000 wounded as a result of Iraq’s continuing violence from January 2014 to October 2015, it said, including more than 2,000 deaths in Baghdad province. More than one million children were displaced.
Last April, the Sunni Muslim Islamic State released more than 200 Yazidis who had been held captive since it seized parts of northern and western Iraq in summer 2014.
The Yazidis are an ethnic Kurdish minority sect following a pre-Islamic religion with links to Zoroastrianism. Around 200,000 Yazidis have been internally displaced as a result of Islamic State persecution. The extremist group targets religious minorities in Iraq and Syria who refuse to adhere to its strict interpretation of Islam.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-has-3-500-slaves-in-iraq-says-u-n-1453215091
Meanwhile Obama does nothing....
“Despite their steady losses to pro-government forces, the scourge of ISIL continues to kill, maim and displace Iraqi civilians in the thousands and to cause untold suffering,” said Jan Kubis, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Iraq, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The report was produced by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is largely based on the personal testimonies of victims, survivors, Iraqi security forces and other witnesses.
Islamic State’s slaves are mostly women and children from the persecuted Yazidi sect, the report said. It recounted stories of women sold in Islamic State territories for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000 each.
Between 800 and 900 children were abducted by Islamic State and forced to train as fighters, the report found. Those aged 10 and under were forced into religious-training camps, while those aged 10-15 were trained as combatants.
Other atrocities included the execution of homosexual men, sometimes by throwing them off buildings, the report said.
Last October, the group beheaded two men and shot dead a 15-year-old who had attempted to escape an area under its control.
Nearly 19,000 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 36,000 wounded as a result of Iraq’s continuing violence from January 2014 to October 2015, it said, including more than 2,000 deaths in Baghdad province. More than one million children were displaced.
Last April, the Sunni Muslim Islamic State released more than 200 Yazidis who had been held captive since it seized parts of northern and western Iraq in summer 2014.
The Yazidis are an ethnic Kurdish minority sect following a pre-Islamic religion with links to Zoroastrianism. Around 200,000 Yazidis have been internally displaced as a result of Islamic State persecution. The extremist group targets religious minorities in Iraq and Syria who refuse to adhere to its strict interpretation of Islam.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-has-3-500-slaves-in-iraq-says-u-n-1453215091
Meanwhile Obama does nothing....
