Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias have been attacking the Sunni community in Iraq, a report said.

Amnesty International said Shi’ite militias supported by Iran and the Baghdad government were abducting and killing Sunni civilians in 2014.

Amnesty said scores of Sunnis were killed “in recent months” in revenge attacks by the militias.

“By granting its blessing to militias who routinely commit such abhorrent abuses, the Iraqi government is sanctioning war crimes and fuelling a dangerous cycle of sectarian violence that is tearing the country apart,” Amnesty adviser Donatella Rovera said.

In a report released on Oct. 14, the London-based human rights group said Shi’ite militias have targeted Sunnis in such cities as Baghdad, Kirkuk and Samara. The report said scores of unidentified bodies were found handcuffed and shot in the head amid the offensive by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

“These militias have further risen in power and prominence since June, after the Iraqi army retreated, ceding nearly a third of the country to IS fighters,” the report, titled “Absolute Impunity: Militia Rule in Iraq,” said. “Militia members, numbering tens of thousands, wear military uniforms, but they operate outside any legal framework and without any official oversight.”

Amnesty identified the militias believed responsible for the killing of Sunnis as the Mahdi Army, Hizbullah Brigades and Asaib Ahl Al Haq. All of the militias were said to be financed and equipped by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The report said many of those abducted by the Shi’ite militias remain missing. Some of the families of the captives were said to have paid ransoms of more than $80,000 to secure their release only to find their loved ones executed.

Many of the Sunnis were said to have been abducted at Shi’ite militia checkpoints. Amnesty quoted a fighter for Asai Ahl Al Haq north of Baghdad as saying that the militia executes Sunnis who come from the ISIL-controlled city of Tikrit.

“They come to Baghdad to commit terrorist crimes, so we have to stop them,” the unidentified Shi’ite militia fighter said.
Amnesty called on the new U.S.-backed government of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi to stop the Shi’ite militias. The militias have been directed by IRGC to defend Baghdad and attack ISIL positions in the north.

“Successive Iraqi governments have displayed a callous disregard for fundamental human rights principles,” Ms. Rovera said. “The new government must now change course and put in place effective mechanisms to investigate abuses by Shia militias and Iraqi forces and hold accountable those responsible.”

  Amnesty charges Baghdad allowing war crimes with Iran-backed revenge attacks on Sunnis, WorldTribune.com