Amnesty International: US and European Weapons Used for War Crimes in Iraq

On Thursday, January 6, Amnesty International stated that militias fighting alongside Iraqi government forces against the Islamic State group are committing war crimes using weapons provided by the US, Europe, Russia, and Iran to the Iraqi army. According to Reuters, Amnesty International reported that these militias, mostly Shia and known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), are using Iraqi army weapons to commit war crimes, including abductions, torture, and extrajudicial executions. In November, the Iraqi parliament voted to recognize the PMF as part of the Iraqi armed forces, but Sunni representatives boycotted the session, concerned about increased central government control by Shia and Iran's growing influence in Iraq. Some Iraqi officials and Western officials have also expressed serious concerns about the central government's ability to control these Shia militias. Patrick Wilcken, a senior researcher at Amnesty International, stated, 'Suppliers of weapons to the Iraqi army, including the US, European governments, Russia, and Iran, must be aware that supplying weapons to Iraq always carries the risk that some of these weapons will fall into the hands of militias with a long history of human rights violations.' He added that countries wishing to sell weapons to Iraq must ensure through rigorous measures that these weapons are not used by militias for human rights violations. Amnesty International prepared this report based on two and a half years of field research, including interviews with dozens of former prisoners, witnesses, survivors, and relatives of individuals who have been killed, imprisoned, or gone missing. The human rights organization focuses on four powerful militia groups: Badr Organization, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades of Iraq), and Saraya al-Salam, most of which are supported by Iran. Reuters notes that the PMF spokesperson and the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister, who administratively oversees these militia groups, declined to comment on the issue. The PMF denies pursuing sectarian goals or harassing and suppressing rivals and opponents, claiming that after the chaotic retreat of the Iraqi army in the face of the Islamic State group's invasion in the summer of 2014, the militias saved the Iraqi nation by pushing back jihadist groups from the outskirts of Baghdad. Approximately three months have passed since the extensive operations of the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga, and Shia militias to liberate the city of Mosul, with thousands of affiliated militias from various PMF groups participating in these operations.