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IS using "tens of thousands" as human shields in Mosul -UN

by Reuters
Friday, 28 October 2016 09:32 GMT

A displaced woman carries her child at a check point in Qayyara, east of Mosul, Iraq October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

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GENEVA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Islamic State forces in Iraq have abducted "tens of thousands" of men, women and children from areas around Mosul and are using them as human shields in the city as Iraqi government troops advance, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants killed at least 232 people on Wednesday, including 190 former Iraqi security forces (ISF) and 40 civilians who refused to obey their orders, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

"Many of them who refused to comply were shot on the spot," she said, citing reports corroborated by the U.N. that were "by no means comprehensive but indicative of violations".

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Tom Miles)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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