Military delegations from Baghdad and Erbil meet

Two Iraqi and Kurdish military delegations have convened in Mosul for talks over Iraqi troops deployment at disputed regions between Erbil and Baghdad, BasNews reported. The meeting, sponsored by U.S., started in the evening on Thursday and is still ongoing.

According to informed sources, the meeting is supposed to tackle several new proposals on Iraqi troops deployment in disputed regions. Another source told Alghad Press that the meeting is expected to last for long time, “especially after the two governments of Baghdad and Erbil confirmed necessity to come up with a resolution that satisfies both solutions as soon as possible.”

Iraqi troops have reportedly been on high alerts in west of Mosul, after Erbil was declared to have stepped back from an agreement between with Baghdad. Kurdistan Regional Government proposed, early today, joint Iraqi-Kurdish deployment at Khabur strategic border crossing between the region and Turkey, with participation of observers from the U.S.-led Coalition

This came after general administration of Khabur exit denied on Wednesday news that Iraqi troops took control on it. Moreover, Jabbar al-Yawar, secretary general of Peshmerga Ministry told Sputnik agency that no federal troops exist at the crossing.

The crossing has been under focus after Iraqi authorities imposed strict measures on it after Kurdistan held its independence referendum on September 25. Since then, Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil.

On the other hand, Iraq is not capable of trying atrocities committed by Islamic State during the battle for Mosul so it must find other routes to justice such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), a U.N. human rights report said on Thursday.

Iraq is not capable of trying atrocities committed by Islamic State during the battle for Mosul so it must find other routes to justice such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), a U.N. human rights report said on Thursday.

At least 2,521 civilians were killed during the nine-month battle including 741 people who were executed, the report said. Most died as a result of Islamic State (ISIL) attacks.

It cited testimonies of mass abductions by Islamic State, as well as killings, the use of human shields, and deliberate targeting of civilians and their homes.

ISIL planted “a huge number” of improvised explosive devices and used drones to drop explosives in Mosul, a city of 1.5 million, as well as setting fire to sulphur fields and oil wells, it said.

Its forces desecrated religious sites and last June blew up the al-Nuri mosque from which its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had declared the caliphate spanning parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, it said.

“Iraqi courts and tribunals do not have jurisdiction over international crimes (such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) - and prosecutors, police investigators and judges lack capacity to ... (investigate), charge and try persons in relation to such crimes,” the report said, calling for it to amend domestic law.

Iraqi law did not do enough to guarantee due process or fair trials, it said.

Accepting the jurisdiction of the Hague-based ICC and finding other ways to ensure crimes were tried by a competent court “would reassure the international community that Iraq is serious” about getting justice, which was key to rebuilding trust and reconciliation, it said.

These included in Sinjar, the northwestern city where the U.N. has said Islamic State committed genocide against the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi religious minority whom the Sunni militants view as infidels.

Iraq and the international community have a duty to ensure those crimes are prosecuted, Syracuse University professor and former war crimes prosecutor David Crane said on Wednesday in a separate report into the genocide, issued by his law school’s Syrian Accountability Project.

“Bringing ISIS to justice for genocide against the Yazidi community, at the domestic or the international level, will depend on the strategic preservation of forensic evidence,” Crane’s report said.

The U.N. report also called on Iraqi authorities to investigate crimes allegedly committed by Iraqi-backed forces during the operation, including mass abductions and unlawful killings.

At least 2,521 civilians were killed during the nine-month battle of Mosul including 741 people who were executed by Islamic State, a UN human rights report said on Thursday. 

While most died as a result of Islamic State attacks, the UN report called on Iraqi authorities to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by Iraqi-backed forces during the operation. It also called for a separate investigation into air strikes by the international coalition.

It said the UN had recorded 461 civilian deaths from air strikes during the most intensive phase of the battle, from 19 February.

The report said Iraq is not capable of trying atrocities committed by Islamic State during the battle for Mosul so it must find other routes to justice such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Iraqi courts and tribunals do not have jurisdiction over international crimes (such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) - and prosecutors, police investigators and judges lack capacity to...(investigate), charge and try persons in relation to such crimes," it said.

In addition, Iraqi law did not do enough to guarantee due process or fair trials, it said.

Accepting the jurisdiction of the Hague-based ICC and finding other ways to ensure crimes were tried by a competent court "would reassure the international community that Iraq is serious about ensuring the accountability of individuals who have committed international crimes", it said.