Amnesty International: IRAQ/ISIS -- "ethnic cleansing on an historical scale"

[pnwmom]

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE14/011/2014/en

Iraq: Ethnic cleansing on historic scale: the Islamic State’s systematic targeting of minorities in northern Iraq

Download: HTMLPDF Index Number: MDE 14/011/2014
Date Published: 2 September 2014
Categories: Iraq

The group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) has carried out ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq. IS has systematically targeted non-Arab and non- Sunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, and forcing more than 830,000 others to flee the areas it has captured since 10 June 2014. Ethnic and religious minorities have lived together in the Nineveh province; today, only those who were unable to flee remain trapped there, under threat of death if they do not convert to Islam.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/011/2014/en/63f30ccd-eedb-43f6-bb5b-1032f813307b/mde140112014en.pdf


The forced displacement of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities, including some of the region’s oldest communities, is a tragedy of historic proportions. Amnesty International’s field investigations have concluded that the IS is systematically and deliberately carrying out a program of ethnic cleansing in the areas under its control. This is not only destroying lives, but also causing irreparable damage to the fabric of Iraq’s society, and fuelling inter-ethnic, sectarian and inter-religious tensions in the region and beyond.

Entire communities in large swathes of territories in northern Iraq were abandoned to their fate without protection from attacks by the IS when the Shi’a-dominated Iraqi army and security forces fled the area in June.The scale and gravity of the abuses and the urgency of the situation demand a swift and robust response – not only to provide humanitarian assistance to those displaced and otherwise affected by the conflict but also to ensure the protection of vulnerable communities who risk being wiped off the map of Iraq.

[TwilightGardener]

1. There's just not that many of them in ISIS--their evil shit is all out of proportion

to their numbers somehow.

[pnwmom]

2. They're going after peaceful communities like the Yazidis and taking women and children.

Their weapons give them power out of proportion to their numbers.