Kurdish forces have been making gains in the northeast of Mosul while the Iraqi army approaches from the south and east [Xinhua]
As the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul rages on between coalition forces and Islamic State fighters, the United Nations is warning that chemical weapons may have been used against civilians and government forces amid reports of mass executions in the city.
On Saturday, reports emerged that ISIL had been executing large numbers of Mosul civilians and hanging them from telephone poles as a warning against any uprising in the city. Last week, Iraqi army forces unearthed a mass grave of at least 100 decapitated bodies believed to be of civilians who resisted ISIL.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani spoke to reporters in Geneva and said there is strong reason to believe that ISIL had stockpiled “large quantities” of ammonia and sulfur that have been placed in areas inhabited by civilians.
A statement released by the UN-OHCR on Friday said that four people are believed to have died after inhaling fumes from burning sulphur at a factory in the city that was set on fire by the group on October 23.
“There does not have to be an intention to target civilians with the use of these chemical weapons, but particular care must be taken to avoid this affecting civilians,” Shamdasani said.
“If that particular care is not taken, or if action is taken instead through negligence or through active action, to cause damage to civilians, then this is clearly prohibited – this is a war crime,” she added.
The UN also fears a mass exodus of some 1.5 million civilians from the battered city. The World Health Organization says it has prepared dozens of response teams in case disease and other health hazards spread among refugees in Mosul.
There are reports of alleged use of chemical weapons by the Islamic State in Syria, too.
Russian Defense Ministery Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told the media that his country’s armed forces have unearthed proof that Islamist rebels in Syria have used chemical weapons against soldiers and civilians alike in southwestern Aleppo.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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