- Title: U.N. concerned about "collective punishment" of Sunni Arabs in Kirkuk
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: ERBIL, IRAQ (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR IRAQ, LISE GRANDE, SPEAKING TO REUTERS JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR IRAQ, LISE GRANDE, SAYING: "We were informed that after the attack by ISIL, by Daesh, two days later the Kirkuk authorities announced that they will be expelling civilian populations and just a few hours after the announcement was made we understand that around 250 civilian families felt they had no choice but to leave." GRANDE'S EYES DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR IRAQ, LISE GRANDE, SAYING: "The United Nations is very concerned about any action that could be understood as collective punishment. People who are displaced have the right to decide when they return and where they are going to live, they cannot be expelled and this is why we are so worried about this particular precedent." GRANDE SPEAKING TO REUTERS JOURNALIST
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 15:10
- Keywords: Iraq Kirkuk Erbil UN Mosul Islamic State
- Location: ERBIL AND KIRKUK, IRAQ
- City: ERBIL AND KIRKUK, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA00155I87YF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United Nations voiced concern on Tuesday (October 25) that Kurdish authorities forced 250 displaced Sunni Arab families to leave Kirkuk after an Islamic State attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, in what it called "collective punishment.
Lise Grande, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, told Reuters in an interview that the action came days before an expected mass exodus of people from the northern Sunni city of Mosul, where an offensive by Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition is underway.
"We were informed that after the attack by ISIL, by Daesh, two days later the Kirkuk authorities announced that they will be expelling civilian populations and just a few hours after the announcement was made we understand that around 250 civilian families felt they had no choice but to leave," Grande said.
"The United Nations is very concerned about any action that could be understood as collective punishment. People who are displaced have the right to decide when they return and where they are going to live, they cannot be expelled this is why we are so worried about this particular precedent."
Grande said the displaced left towards the nearby areas of Salahuddin, Anbar and Diala area.
The Kirkuk authorities suspect the Islamic State fighters who carried out a surprise attack on multiple targets on Friday (October 21) were helped by Sunni sleeper cells, humanitarian workers and residents said on Tuesday.
Grande said the U.N. had no evidence whether any of the families had helped Islamic State but the timing of the move suggested it was used as a pretext to force these families out.
The Sunni families had been sheltering in Kirkuk province from the conflict with Islamic State. They began moving out after authorities told them on Sunday (October 23) to leave or face being forcibly expelled, the sources said.
About 370,000 Sunni Arabs had taken refuge in Kirkuk in the past two years, after Islamic State swept through northern, central and western Iraq in 2014.
Some had fled because of the fighting and others because of the hardline Sunni group's harsh rules and the difficult living conditions in their villages and towns.
Islamic State fighters stormed police stations and buildings in Kirkuk on Friday, killing about 100 security force members and civilians. Sixty-three militants also died in the heavy fighting that lasted until Sunday, when authorities restored control.
The jihadists carried out the operation to relieve pressure on Mosul, the last major city stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq.
Kirkuk is the most disputed area of Iraq because of its complex population mix. The Kurds took full control of the province in 2014 after Islamic State overran much of the north of the country and several divisions of the Iraqi army disintegrated.
Arabs complain that Kurds have since flooded to Kirkuk to tilt the demographic balance, while Kurds say they are simply redressing historic wrongs perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, the Sunni Arab leader toppled by the United States in 2003.
Saddam's policy of "Arabisation" in the north during his quarter century in power led to many Kurdish villages being razed and hundreds of thousands of people being displaced to ensure Arab dominance over local Kurds, Turkmen and Assyrian Christians. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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