Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Iraq: The government's killing of civilians gets some attention

A protest took place in Dohuk Province today.  Alsumaria reports that dozens of people turned out to protest in front of Dohuk Court against the murder of a 15-year-old girl by her husband who has not been arrested and remains at large.  Silam Hassan, the mother of the murdered girl, states she has been under tremendous pressure from various tribal figures to stay silent and not protest the murder of her daughter Dunia.  Dohuk is in the Kurdistan Region and last year saw 5316 women and girls die from murder or suicide.


Turning to today's violence, the biggest death toll thus far comes from a suicide bomber in the Shorja section of Baghdad.  Reuters reports a suicide bomber took his own life in a central Baghdad mosque and took the lives of at least 19 other people.  National Iraqi News Agency reports Joint Operations Command announced they killed 5 suspects in Mosul, a Qayyarah bombing left four Iraqi soldiers injured,  Sadr City market bombing left 2 people dead and nine injured, 2 Baghdad roadside bombing left four people injured, and 2 Mosul suicide bombers took their own lives and the lives of 3 others (two were police members) while leaving three more injured. Alsumaria adds that a Mosul International Airport employee was shot dead in front of his Mosul home, 1 university professor was shot dead in front of his Mosul home, an al-Muthanna bombing left one Iraqi soldier and one woman injured, and a Tuz Khurmatu sticky bombing killed 1 person.

On the War Crimes front, Nouri continued to bomb residential neighborhoods in Falluja.  Alsumaria reports this resulted in the death of 1 child and 2 other civilians with three more injured. These are War Crimes, he's been using collective punishment on the civilians of Falluja since the start of the year.  He's also bombed hospitals in Falluja, power plants, mosques and water facilities.  These are War Crimes.

Human Rights Watch issued "Iraq: Government Attacking Fallujah Hospital" today.  Excerpt:

Iraqi government forces battling armed groups in the western province of Anbar since January 2014 have repeatedly struck Fallujah General Hospital with mortar shells and other munitions, Human Rights Watch said today. The recurring strikes on the main hospital, including with direct fire weapons, strongly suggest that Iraqi forces have targeted it, which would constitute a serious violation of the laws of war.

Since early May, government forces have also dropped barrel bombs on residential neighborhoods of Fallujah and surrounding areas, part of an intensified campaign against armed opposition groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). These indiscriminate attacks have caused civilian casualties and forced thousands of residents to flee.

“The government has been firing wildly into Fallujah’s residential neighborhoods for more than four months, and ramped up its attacks in May,” said Fred Abrahams, special adviser at Human Rights Watch. “This reckless disregard for civilians is deadly for people caught between government forces and opposition groups.”



The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, Jake Tapper, NPR music, Black Agenda Report, Antiwar.com, Law & Disorder Radio and Pacifica Evening News -- updated:










  • Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Barack's VA response" went up Sunday.


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