BAGHDAD: Daesh has released dozens of prisoners held in jails in the districts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul that remain under its control, residents said on Saturday.
The release of the prisoners on Friday is another sign that the militants are being overwhelmed by the US-backed Iraqi offensive that started on Oct. 17 to dislodge them from Mosul, their last major city stronghold in Iraq.
Daesh has lost most cities it captured in Iraq in 2014 and 2015. It declared a caliphate that also spanned parts of Syria from Mosul in 2014.
Among those released were people who had been caught selling cigarettes, violating a smoking ban, or in possession of a mobile phone and therefore suspected of communicating with the outside world, the residents said.
Iraqi forces dislodged Daesh from the eastern side of Mosul in January, and on Feb. 19 launched the offensive on the districts located west of the Tigris river.
State-run TV on Friday said about half western Mosul has been taken back from the militants who are besieged in the old city center and districts to the north.
One of the men released on Friday said two militants got him out of a basement where he was held captive with other people, blindfolded the group and drove them away in a bus.
“After driving a distance, we stopped and they told us to remove the blindfolds and then they said ‘go, you are free,’” he said by phone, adding that about 25 prisoners were on the bus.
The man, who requested not to be identified, indicated that had spent two weeks in prison for selling cigarettes.
One Mosul resident said his brother had suddenly reappeared at the house on Friday after spending a month in captivity for possessing a mobile phone.
Daesh frees Mosul prisoners as grip on last major city slips
Daesh frees Mosul prisoners as grip on last major city slips
UN rights chief slams dangerous ‘tit-for-tat dynamic’ in Mideast war
- Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure
- He stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs“
GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief voiced alarm Tuesday at the Middle East conflict’s deepening impact on civilians, warning of the dangers of the seeming “tit-for-tat dynamic” between the warring sides.
The United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, prompting waves of Iranian strikes across the Gulf.
With hostilities intensifying, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure.
“This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences across the entire region,” he warned in a statement.
Turk stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs.”
“All parties are bound by these rules, and must be held to account if they do not,” he said, warning: “the world is watching.”
The UN rights chief warned that “strikes against vital civilian infrastructure in the Middle East — as well as the widening geographic spread of strikes — are further increasing risks for populations across the region, and beyond.”
He pointed to strikes on a water desalination plant and fuel facilities in Iran over the weekend, igniting fires and reportedly disrupting water access for dozens of villages.
It also prompted warnings of “acid rain” that could cause chemical burns and serious lung damage.
“The foreseeable impacts on civilians and the environment of these strikes raise serious questions as to compliance of these attacks with the requirements of international humanitarian law of proportionality and precaution,” Turk said.
“This warrants careful legal scrutiny.”
He also highlighted the broader impact of the war.
The plunge in commercial shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz was taking a severe toll on access to energy, food and fertilizer across the region and beyond — hitting the world’s most vulnerable people the hardest.
Turk raised concern about reports of detentions, charges and other forms of repression and intimidation against people in a number of countries, in connection with their expression of opinions around the Middle East conflict.
He demanded that all those arbitrarily detained be released immediately and unconditionally.
“States are reminded of their obligation under international human rights law to respect and protect people’s right to freedom of expression — particularly in times of crisis,” he said.
