Iranian regime’s proxy groups in Iraq commit crimes in Tikrit

Iranian regime’s proxy groups in Iraq commit crimes in Tikrit

 Saturday, 04 April 2015 

Horrific thing are happening in Iraqi city of Tikrit as Iraqi forces and armed groups affiliated to the Iranian regime have entered the city since it has been liberated from Daesh (ISIS).

Two Reuters correspondents witnessed the killing of a man by two officers who took out knives and repeatedly stabbed a man in the neck and slit his throat.

Since its recapture two days ago, the Sunni city of Tikrit has been the scene of violence and looting. In addition to the killings, Reuters correspondents also saw a convoy of Shi'ite paramilitary fighters drag a corpse through the streets behind their car.

Reuters reports that local officials said the mayhem continues. Two security officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that dozens of homes had been torched in the city. They added that they had witnessed the looting of stores by Shi'ite militiamen.

On Friday, Ahmed al-Kraim, head of the Salahuddin Provincial Council, told Reuters that mobs had burned down "hundreds of houses" and looted shops over the past two days. Government security forces, he said, were afraid to confront the mobs. Kraim said he left the city late Friday afternoon because the situation was spinning out of control.

"Our city was burnt in front of our eyes. We can't control what is going on," Kraim said.

Shi'ite paramilitary fighters in pickup trucks raced through the city carrying goods that appeared to have been looted from homes and government offices.

The vehicles were crammed with refrigerators, air conditioners, computer printers, and furniture. A young militia fighter rode on a red bicycle, gleefully shouting: "I always dreamed of having a bike like this as a kid," Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, as Tikrit fell, militiamen were racing to stencil their names on houses in order to take credit for the victory.

An Iranian man, with a Kalashnikov rifle slung over his shoulder and a picture of the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pinned to his chest, bragging about Tehran's role in the campaign.

"I am proud to participate in the battle to liberate Tikrit," said the man, who called himself Sheik Dawood. "Iran and Iraq are one state now."

Despite Baghdad's efforts to rein in the paramilitaries, the fingerprints of the Shi'ite militias – and of Iran itself – were all over the operation's final hours, the report added.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on March 30 he was concerned about abuses by Iraqi forces and paramilitary forces in their war against Islamic State and called for investigations into any wrongdoing.
Ban's remarks, made during a one-day visit to Iraq, amounted to the strongest warning to date by a world leader regarding the conduct of the Shi'ite paramilitaries.

Speaking alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, Ban called for the different "volunteer armed groups" -- a broad term referring to Shi'ite paramilitary factions -- to be brought under government control.

"I am ... concerned by allegations of summary killings, abductions and destruction of property perpetrated by forces and militias fighting alongside Iraqi armed forces," Ban said after meeting Iraqi officials.

"Alleged violations or abuses of human rights must be investigated and perpetrators need to be held to account."

"Civilians freed from the brutality of Daesh should not have to then fear their liberators," Ban said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"One form of violence cannot replace another," he added, alluding to reports of abuse against ordinary Sunnis when their areas were freed from Islamic State.

A number of international organization had expressed concerns about Iranian-linked paramilitary groups committing war crimes in Iraq.

Amnesty International said in a report in last October that Shiite militias backed by the Iraqi army are committing war crimes against civilians and use the battle against ISIS as a pretext for carrying out "revenge" attacks on members of the Sunni community.

Amnesty International said: "The growing power of Shiite militias has contributed to an overall deterioration in security and an atmosphere of lawlessness," and called on the government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to rein in the scores of militias targeting civilians across Iraq.

Amnesty said it had seen evidence of "scores" of "deliberate execution style killings" against Sunnis across Iraq as well as Sunni families having to pay tens of thousands of dollars to free abducted relatives.

Many of those kidnapped are still missing and some were killed even after their families paid hefty ransoms to secure their release, the group said in a report.