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  Renewed cycle of sectarian strife in Iraq, says UN

Renewed cycle of sectarian strife in Iraq, says UN

REUTERS
Published : Jul 5, 2016, 11:33 pm IST
Updated : Jul 5, 2016, 11:33 pm IST

The top UN human rights official called on Iraq on Tuesday to stop groups that are fighting alongside government forces against ISIS from taking revenge on civilians and to clarify the fate of hundred

The top UN human rights official called on Iraq on Tuesday to stop groups that are fighting alongside government forces against ISIS from taking revenge on civilians and to clarify the fate of hundreds who went missing.

Witnesses say a government-affiliated Shia militia that helped the Army recapture Falluja from ISIS in early June abducted more than 600 Sunni men and boys who had just fled the city. The disappearances, along with one of the worst single bombings in Iraq to date in Baghdad on Saturday “increase the likelihood of a renewed cycle of full-throttle sectarian violence,” UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack late on Saturday in a busy shopping district. At least 175 people were killed.

Mr Zeid said there was a list of 643 missing men and boys, as well as of 49 others believed to have been summarily executed or tortured to death while in the initial custody of Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia militia, after Falluja was re-taken. Tribal leaders believe another 200 are unaccounted for.

“This appears to be the worst — but far from the first — such incident involving unofficial militias fighting alongside government forces against ISIL,” Mr Zeid said.

Menahwile, Iraq’s interior minister offered to resign on Tuesday and said a deputy would take over his responsibilities, days after one of the worst bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 invasion. Mohammed Ghabban made the announcement at a media conference in Baghdad, a video of which was posted on his official Facebook page.

Location: Iraq, Baghdad