From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evelyn-leopold/isis-isil-is-thy-name-is_b_5948208.html
There is nothing holy about rape or forcing women to marry ISIS fighters or selling girls on a slave mart. The more educated the woman, the more she is subject to having her head chopped off like a loaf of bread by a flipped-out Jihadist.
At least 9,343 civilians have been killed in Iraq from January to September, with 5,500 people, more than half of them, since ISIS began its rampage in June, according to a 29-page report by the U.N.’s Iraq mission and its Geneva-based Human Rights Commission.
These include attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against women and children, forced recruitment of children, destruction or desecration of places of religious or cultural significance, wanton destruction and looting of property, and denial of fundamental freedoms.
Of course one could argue that the Syrian government left the door open for ISIS and the US war in Iraq resulted in anti-Sunni suppression by government leaders out for revenge. But…..
“The array of violations and abuses perpetrated by ISIL and associated armed groups is staggering, and many of their acts may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity,” said the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein of Jordan.
The chief victims are the minority Yazidis, a Kurdish ethno-religious group in northern Iraq. They are slaughtered en masse if they are not able to flee their homes. Christians do not fare much better.
Physical and sexual violence against women and children are common. The children are used as soldiers while the women are sold as sex slaves to inspire recruits.
Slave auctions and booty
ISIS even opened an office in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, as a slave market to auction off abducted women.
Women and girls are brought with price tags for the buyers to choose and negotiate the sale. The buyers were said to be mostly youth from the local communities. Apparently, ISIL was ‘selling’ these [Yezidi] women to the youth as a means of inducing them to join their ranks.
According to Yezidi community leaders, ISIL had forced some women to convert and were marrying them to ISIL fighters. Those who refused were used as concubines or war booty (malak yamiin) or sold on the auction block.
Continue reading at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evelyn-leopold/isis-isil-is-thy-name-is_b_5948208.html
Share this:
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)