UNITED NATIONS: The head of a UN team investigating atrocities in Iraq said that Daesh extremists committed crimes against humanity and war crimes at a prison in Mosul in June 2014, where at least 1,000 predominantly Shiite Muslim prisoners were systematically killed.
Christian Ritscher told the UN Security Council on Thursday that evidence collected from mass graves containing the remains of victims of executions carried out at Badush Central Prison and from survivors shows detailed preparations of the attack by senior Daesh members followed by an assault on the morning of June 10 that year.
“Prisoners captured were led to sites close to the prison, separated based on their religion and humiliated,” he said. “At least 1,000 predominantly Shiite prisoners were then systematically killed.”
Ritscher said the investigators’ analysis of digital, documentary, survivors and forensic evidence, including Daesh documents, has identified a number of members from the extremist group, also known as IS or ISIL, who were responsible for the crimes.
As a result of the investigations, he said the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes committed by the Daesh group in Iraq has concluded that Daesh committed “crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture, enforced disappearances, persecution and other inhumane acts” at Badush prison as well as the “war crimes of willful killing, torture, inhumane treatment, and outrage upon personal dignity.”
Daesh fighters seized Iraqi cities and declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swathe of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was formally declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year bloody battle that left tens of thousands dead and cities in ruins, but its sleeper cells continue to launch attacks in different parts of Iraq.
In May, Ritscher’s predecessor Karim Khan told the council that investigators had found “clear and compelling evidence” that Daesh extremists committed genocide against the Yazidi minority in 2014. He also said the militant group successfully developed chemical weapons and used mustard gas.
Ritscher hailed the “landmark moment” two days ago that saw the first-ever conviction of a Daesh member for the crime of genocide at the regional court in Frankfurt, Germany. The 29-year-old Iraqi was also convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes and bodily harm resulting in death over the death of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl he had purchased as a slave with her mother and then chained up in the hot sun to die.
“We now have the chance, collectively, to make such prosecutions the norm, not a celebrated exception,” Ritscher said. “In cooperation with Iraqi authorities and those of the Kurdistan region, together with survivors and with the support of this council, we are building the evidence that can deliver meaningful justice for all those who suffered from ISIL crimes in Iraq.”
Ritscher said evidence collected relating to the Badush prison attacks underlined the detailed planning by Daesh in carrying out their atrocities.
The extremist group’s approach “is seen even more clearly in two other key lines of investigation that have accelerated in the last six months: the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL, and the financial mechanisms through which it sustained its campaign of violence,” he said.
The team’s evidence also “shows that ISIL clearly identified and then seized chemical production factories and other sources of precursor material, while also overtaking the University of Mosul campus as a hub for research and development,” Ritscher said.
The extremist group’s program became more sophisticated and investigators have identified more than 3.000 victims of Daesh chemical weapons attacks as well as its use of rocket artillery projectiles containing a mustard sulfur agent, he said.
In his next briefing to the Security Council, Ritscher said he will present the team’s findings on Daesh’s use of chemical weapons including the crimes it committed.
He also stressed the critical importance of bringing the Daesh’s financiers and those who profit from the group’s crimes to justice.
Ritscher said investigators have uncovered the inner workings of the Daesh central treasury and a network of senior leaders who also acted “as trusted financiers, diverting wealth that Daesh gained through pillage, theft of property from targeted communities and the imposition of a systematic and exploitative taxation system imposed on those living under ISIL control.”
He said the team recently shared information with the Iraqi judiciary on the use of money service businesses by the group “as key facilitators of their financing,” and it looks forward to expanding this kind of cooperation.
UN says Daesh committed war crimes at Iraqi prison
https://arab.news/453ch
UN says Daesh committed war crimes at Iraqi prison
- ‘At least 1,000 predominantly Shiite prisoners were systematically killed’
- Daesh fighters seized Iraqi cities and declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swathe of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014
Damascus rally demands news of missing Syrians
- Dozens of somber protesters holding pictures of the disappeared assembled in central Damascus’s Hijaz Square
DAMASCUS: A silent crowd gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus to press the new authorities about the fate of relatives who went missing under Bashar Assad and to demand justice for their loved ones.
The fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared under Assad — who was ousted on Dec. 8 by a coalition of rebels — is a key question after more than 13 years of devastating civil war that saw upwards of half a million people killed.
Dozens of somber protesters holding pictures of the disappeared assembled in central Damascus’s Hijaz Square, a journalist said.
“It is time for tyrants to be held accountable,” read a black banner unfurled from the balcony of the elegant Ottoman-era train station.
Other placards read: “Revealing the fate of the missing is a right,” and “I don’t want an unmarked grave for my son, I want the truth.”
Such a demonstration would have been unthinkable under Assad’s rule, but it is now possible under the new authorities dominated by the radical group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which led the offensive that overthrew him.
“Unfortunately for many years we were united in the grief of absence and uncertainty, waiting for our loved ones, one amnesty after another,” said Wafa Mustafa in a speech in the midst of the protesters.
Her father Ali was arrested in 2013.
“We all saw the scenes of prisoners being freed. It was a source of joy, but it was also very difficult because we did not see our own loved ones among them,” she said.
“We are here to say we will not accept anything less than the whole truth, to know what happened to our relatives, who tortured them, and if they were buried, where they are,” she added.
Amani Al-Hallaq, 28, was seeking news about where to find the remains of her cousin, who was kidnapped in 2012 when he was a student dentist.
“I was once one of those who was afraid. This is the first time I am protesting,” the 28-year-old Amani said.
Her cousin was abducted as he came out of the university, said the young woman in a headscarf.
“They pulled out his nails. He died instantly,” she said.
“We want to know where the disappeared are, their bodies, so we can identify them.”
Qatar PM meets Hamas delegation for Gaza ceasefire talks
- Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held talks with a Hamas team led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya
DOHA: Qatar’s prime minister met a Hamas delegation in Doha on Saturday to discuss a “clear and comprehensive” ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, a statement said.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held talks with a Hamas team led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya, the foreign ministry statement said.
It is unusual for Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, to be publicly involved in the mediation process that has appeared deadlocked for months.
“During the meeting, the latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations were reviewed, and ways to advance the process were discussed to ensure a clear and comprehensive agreement that brings an end to the ongoing war in the region,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, the sheikh expressed optimism that “momentum” was returning to the talks following Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.
“We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” he said at the Doha Forum political conference.
The incoming Trump administration had given “a lot of encouragement in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office,” the premier added.
The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, has been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release.
In November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying that it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed “willingness and seriousness.”
But Doha then hosted indirect negotiations this month, with Hamas and Israel both reporting progress before again accusing each other of throwing up roadblocks.
Israel destroys Hezbollah tunnel, met with calls for popular resistance
- Secret crossing routes link Damascus to Beirut
- Sixty-seven Syrians deported
BEIRUT: The Israeli military announced its “success in dismantling an underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, measuring 100 meters in length, leading to a hideout belonging to the Radwan Forces of Hezbollah.”
Israeli forces, which have been infiltrating the border area in southern Lebanon since Oct. 1 continue to operate in the country despite the ceasefire agreement, with Saturday marking the beginning of the second month of the specified withdrawal deadline.
While the Israeli military justified its hostile activities in southern Lebanon as “removing threats in line with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it said that “the 300th Brigade, in cooperation with the 146th Division and engineering forces, successfully dismantled the mentioned tunnel.”
It added that “the specialized Yahalom Unit, dealing with explosives, secured and inspected the tunnel for threats. During the operations, large quantities of weapons were discovered inside the tunnel, including rifles, machine guns, anti-tank missiles, as well as advanced surveillance systems. All the equipment was confiscated and destroyed, including the tunnel itself.”
The statement mentioned “the discovery of a stockpile of anti-tank missiles and heavy machine-gun positions directed toward Israeli sites near the tunnel.” It also noted that “the tunnel’s path led to a Hezbollah command center containing rocket launch platforms previously used against Israel during the war, as well as large quantities of explosives.”
While the Israeli military continues to encroach upon the border area and prevents residents from accessing the area until further notice in an attempt to establish a buffer zone, anonymous statements circulated on social media calling for “popular resistance.”
Activists supportive of Hezbollah criticized the Lebanese Army and state for not responding to the Israeli incursions into towns and villages and demanded that Hezbollah “arm and train us so we can resist the Israeli occupier and liberate our land with our own hands.”
A statement signed by a group calling itself Youth of the Border Villages declared: “We find ourselves compelled to defend our villages and properties with whatever weapons are available, and we will not accept the continuation of this barbaric, systematic, and brutal aggression by the enemy. We will be forced to launch a southern popular resistance to confront this assault.”
Another statement signed by a group called Youth of Beirut’s Southern Suburb called on “the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, represented by Hezbollah, to fight in defense of the land, the people, and honor.”
The statement referred to the Israeli violations that occurred after the ceasefire agreement was announced and stated that “given what has happened, after consulting with the Lebanese state and receiving no response, and consulting UNIFIL without receiving any answer, we hereby legally, morally, and ethically authorize Hezbollah and demand it to arm and train us so we can resist the Israeli occupier and liberate our land with our own hands.”
However, despite these anonymous calls, the caretaker government, in which Hezbollah is a key partner, continues to affirm its commitment to the “ceasefire agreement and its insistence on implementing Resolution 1701 as a means to stop hostilities against Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to hold funerals for members killed in southern Lebanon.
During the funeral of one in the city of Hermel on Saturday, Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamadeh condemned “the repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.” He held “the Lebanese government and the committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire accountable,” asserting that “resistance remains the most effective option to confront the Israeli enemy.”
On the other side of the border, the Lebanese General Security deported 67 Syrians who had entered Lebanese territory illegally through Al-Arida border crossing with Syria in the north.
In a statement, the Internal Security Forces announced that they had “intercepted a bus carrying the Syrians in the Jbeil area. Upon inspection, 67 individuals were found on board, including men, women, and children, one of whom was an infant no older than 40 days. They had been smuggled into Lebanon from Syria to be transported to Beirut.”
Meanwhile, media reports cited a Lebanese security source stating that “Rifaat Assad, uncle of the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, departed Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport for Dubai on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by two individuals on a private jet.”
On Friday, Lebanese General Security detained Rifaat Assad’s granddaughter and her mother at the airport after discovering both were carrying passports that had expired.
Numerous former Assad regime officials have left the country via Lebanon since the fall of the regime. Among those was Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior adviser to the deposed leadership , according to Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi.
However, security services arrested a former officer from the 4th Division, belonging to Syria’s Al-Kreidi family, while he was en route to Beirut with $170,000 in his possession.
Meanwhile, security forces are still investigating whether the former head of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, Jamil Hassan — accused by US authorities of committing war crimes during Assad’s rule — is currently in Lebanon.
The Lebanese judiciary received an Interpol request for his arrest, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati affirmed at the time that Lebanon “will cooperate with Interpol’s request.”
Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’
- Attack is latest in ‘ongoing series of atrocities’ against Palestinians, it says
- Body calls for end to ‘international silence,’ as crisis worsens
LONDON: The Arab Parliament has denounced Israel’s burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday as “a new war crime,” following reports that patients, injured civilians and medical staff were forced to evacuate under perilous conditions.
According to witnesses, Israeli troops stormed the hospital, setting large sections ablaze, detained its director and ordered the evacuation of hundreds to the nearby Indonesian Hospital.
The displaced individuals were left in dire conditions, lacking food, water, electricity and medical supplies, witnesses said.
The assault rendered the facility “useless,” worsening Gaza’s already severe health crisis, the Palestinian territory’s health officials said on Saturday.
In a statement on Saturday, the Arab Parliament described the incident as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and called for those responsible to be brought before international courts.
“This crime is added to an ongoing series of atrocities by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians,” it said.
The Arab Parliament accused Israel of systematically targeting Gaza’s already fragile health infrastructure and said the international community’s silence had emboldened these actions.
“The persistence on the total and complete destruction of the dilapidated health system in the Gaza Strip is a direct result of international silence on its crimes,” it said.
The statement urged the UN Security Council and broader international community to take action, calling for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for alleged war crimes and measures to prevent further humanitarian catastrophes in Gaza.
Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief
- Philippe Lazzarini issued stark warning about dire humanitarian situation in Gaza
LONDON: Freezing temperatures and a lack of basic supplies in Gaza are threatening lives amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the enclave, a United Nations official warned on Saturday.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, issued a stark warning about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where he said babies and infants were succumbing to the cold due to the region’s harsh winter weather and inadequate shelter.
“Meanwhile, blankets, mattresses, and other winter supplies have been stuck in the region for months waiting for approval to get into Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote on X.
He also emphasized the urgent need for the immediate provision of essential winter supplies and reiterated calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.
The World Food Program has also highlighted the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza. The agency reported that it has only managed to deliver about a third of the food required to support the population.
“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza,” the WFP stated in a post on X. The agency echoed calls for the restoration of law and order, safe and sustained humanitarian access, and an immediate ceasefire to alleviate the suffering.
UN agencies continue to urge swift international action to address the urgent needs of Gaza’s vulnerable population.
