ISIS kidnaps thousands of civilians to use as human shields in Mosul

Jardine Malado Monday, October 31, 2016

Civilians welcomed Iraqi army after the liberation of Khalidiya village from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, October 20, 2016. | REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

In a desperate move to hold on to the city of Mosul, ISIS has abducted tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, to use them as human shields as the battle intensifies in the city.

The U.N. agency has received reports that almost 8,000 families from the districts surrounding Mosul have been kidnapped by ISIS. Those who tried to resist have been killed. Those who were abducted had to walk barefoot alongside the militants on their way to Mosul.

"ISIL's depraved, cowardly strategy is to try to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military action, essentially using tens of thousands of men, women and children as human shields," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The population of Hamam al-Alil, an ISIS stronghold in Mosul, went up from 23,000 to 60,000. Iraqi forces are hoping to storm the town soon but they are concerned about the high number of civilians.

The Kurdish Peshmarga forces have been worried as well with regards to clearing the towns and villages north and east of Mosul.

"We are taking it slowly. We have to be careful. Our biggest challenge are the civilians. We have to be patient in order to save civilian lives," said Kurdish Peshmarga Col. Abdullah Tato to CNN.

Lynn Malouf of Amnesty International said that Iraqi and coalition forces must take the necessary precautions to avoid or minimize harm to civilians.

ISIS has also used the same tactic of taking civilian hostages during the battle of Falluja in May. The militant group blamed their enemies for the deaths of the civilians.

ISIS has reportedly executed 232 people who were mostly former Iraqi officers on Wednesday. It is believed that the militant group is targeting those with military training or past links to security forces.

The U.N. and other human rights groups have estimated that more than 200,000 civilians could be displaced from Mosul which is populated by more than one million people.