MESOP DOCUMENTATION : Iraqi Human Rights Group Report on Situation in North Iraq

24.6.2014 MESOP –  The Hammurabi Human Rights Organization (HHRO), an NGO based in Baghdad, Iraq, monitors the human rights situation in Iraq, particularly of minorities such as Assyrians, Turkmen, Yazidis and Shabak. Founded in 2005, HHRO works for human rights observation and documentation, in addition to implementation of humanitarian relief in Iraq.HHRO works with various Iraqi and international institutions on variety of issues.

HHRO publishes annual reports on Human Rights situations focusing on Minorities. In 2013, HHRO was recognized and awarded as the best NGO by the United States State Department for its major achievements in the most difficult situations for the year 2012 in Baghdad.

The following is the latest report from HHRO regarding the current situation in north Iraq.

Nineveh Province

  • On 6/21/2014 ISIS destroyed the statue of the Virgin Mary at the Immaculate Church of the Highest in the neighborhood of AlShafa in Mosul, as well as the statues of Mullah Osman Al-Musali and the poet Abu Tamam (AINA 2014-06-19).
  • ISIS militants ordered Christian, Yazidis and Shiite government employees not to report for work in Mosul.
  • Shiite Turkmen in the villages of AlKibba and Shraikhan fled after receiving threats from ISIS.

Sinjar District

  • Militants have threatened to attack the center of Sinjar District with mortars because it received the displaced Shiites from Tel Afar.

Hamdaniya District (Baghdeda)

  • On Saturday, 6/21/2014, gunmen attacked the village of AlShamsiyat in the Alhamdania District and arrested 25 village elders and young men who are Turkmen; their whereabouts is still unknown.
  • Armed militants raided the village of Qaratapa Arabs to search for a person wanted by them, but they did not find him.
  • On Saturday, 06/21/2014, the insurgents raided the village of AlKahara in the Nimrud Municipality in Alhamdania District to search for the Director of the District, Mr. Ahmed Obaid, and one of his relatives from the military leaders named Khaled Kosofi, but they were not found, and as a result the militants bombed their homes.

Utility Services in Hamdaniya, Bartella, Karamles, Bashiqa and other villages

ISIS has severely limited the electric service to Hamdaniya (AINA 2014-06-18). The available electric power is first used for water purification projects and pumping, and what is left is distributed to residents at a rate of just one hour per day.

The water supply in Mosul is under the control of ISIS, it is only available for a few hours per day. This is the sole source of water that feeds Hamdaniya, Bartella and Ba’shiqah municipalities. The number of people who depend on this is more than 350,000. The populations has been forced to depend on wells and many of these are not suitable for drinking.

Economic situation

The economic situation in the District suffers from volatility and decline. A number of displaced families visited the Department of Immigration and Displacement for aid. The registered number for this aid reached hundreds by Saturday June 21, 2014 and the number continues to increase.