(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Armed men posing next to severed heads. Masked men who torture, mutilate and execute civilians. These are things we associate with IS 'brutal propaganda videos. Not so well known are the videos of the Iraqi government army's documented war crimes. In the videos Ny Tid now shows, one can see, among other things, cruel details from executions carried out by state-supported Shiite militias linked to the Iraqi government army and Iran. (See www.nytid.no.) The attacks are reportedly revenge attacks against the Sunni Muslim civilian population in liberated IS areas in the city of Tikrit. Unidentified young men are beaten, tortured and shot in "boast videos" which are independently filmed and published by government soldiers. "The fact that we send a Norwegian military contribution to Iraq will be perceived as Norway choosing a side in a sectarian civil war. Norwegian soldiers could be complicit in the one-party war actions, ”says Norwegian-Iraqi community debater Thee Yezen al-Obaide, who himself recently visited Iraq. In Iraq, al-Obaide documented the government's war crimes. He has received video footage from Iraqi freelance journalists and civilian activists. In the film clips we see a number of uniformed government soldiers and various uniformed militia groups who are actively plundering and destroying cities, torturing and killing civilians. Documented events. Documented war crimes by the government have occurred in cities such as Amerli and al-Khales in Salah al-Din province, according to Amnesty and Human Rights Watch. New Time: The murder of an 11-year-old from New time on Vimeo. The password for the videos is "modern" "The main reason why IS apparently has some support in parts of the Sunni population is that they appear to be the only ones willing to protect them from abuses by Shiites. But IS kills and tortures many Sunni Muslims, just as the Shiites kill and torture many Shiites, "said Gerald Kador Folkvord, political adviser at Amnesty International Norway. There is an imminent danger that parts of the Sunni Muslim majority in Iraq will reluctantly accept IS because they feel it provides security and protection against Shia-controlled militia groups. Al-Obaide comments: "There is no doubt that IS must be fought, and that Norway must contribute to the fight. What is uncertain is whether it is right to do this by training Iraqi forces without a clear UN mandate. " The internal power struggles have so far resulted in approximately 2,1 million internally displaced refugees in Iraq. Many of the refugees live in makeshift tent camps in Iraq or in neighboring countries. Military contribution. Norway and 60 countries in an international coalition will now fight side by side with the Iraqi government army. The government army has several terrorist-listed militia groups within the army, and is becoming as dangerous as the Sunni-dominated terrorist group IS. "Amnesty is very concerned about international military support for Iraq. The fight against IS can involve cooperation – directly or indirectly – with groups that have a very poor record when it comes to respect for the war's international law and human rights, "says Folkvord. In conversations with the Ministry of Defense, it emerges that the Armed Forces is now very uncertain about the implementation of a training mission aimed at the government army in Baghdad. The Armed Forces has previously had great success in training and educating the Afghan Special Police Crisis Response Unit (CRU). The Foreign Ministry does not want to comment on the videos or answer questions related to the Iraqi government army. The Ministry of Defense holds the cards close to its chest, but says that the training mission of peshmerga forces in the German training camp in Erbil continues as planned. The Telemark battalion's vanguard with logistics and materiel is apparently already in place in Erbil in northern Iraq, according to VG. assaulted in hospital from New time on Vimeo. Thee Yezen al-Obaide continues: "When our government sends Norwegian forces down to Iraq, without having a general understanding of background, history and culture, it could be misunderstood and interpreted differently by the Sunni Muslim civilian population in Iraq and Norway. This may result in an increased terrorist threat against Norway. I strongly dissociate myself from such actions, but it is important to understand and talk about the unintended consequences of such a contribution. " The Ministry of Defense confirms that Norwegian soldiers will not undergo background information or carry out a selection process before Norwegian soldiers may give Iraqi government forces weapons training. Norway or the international coalition may thus reluctantly end up training various military soldiers within the government army who have actively promoted war crimes, are on terrorist lists in the West, have attacked and killed thousands of American soldiers and who are responsible for an ideological and sectarian civil war.
Norwegian soldiers will be able to be complicit in one party's acts of war.
NTB reports that the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has agreed with its Iraqi counterpart on an agreement in which the Norwegian soldiers are provided with diplomatic passports. Norwegian soldiers and the international soldiers from the coalition thus have diplomatic immunity, and can not be prosecuted or put on trial for their actions and operations in Iraq. Americans restless. In March, US politicians and military officers issued official announcements that the United States would no longer want to provide air support to Iraq if Shiite militia groups continue to attack and commit war crimes against the civilian population in Tikrit. The Americans do not want to cooperate with these militia groups, which apparently only accept orders from Iran, and which are not directly subject to orders from the government in Baghdad, according to AbcNews. Some of the Iraqi Shiite militia units have already been cut off from US assistance due to well-known human rights violations, according to a senior military official in the Pentagon's Joint Staff. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter commented in March that he was "concerned that Iran's presence in Iraq could legitimize and build up a sectarian civil war." That the brutality is taking place on both sides – also by the government-controlled Shiite militias – has not sunk in properly in the Norwegian media, points out Thee Yezen al-Obaide. "Rough and disturbing images and videos have been circulating on the internet for a couple of months, but Norwegian media have so far shown no interest in this – they continue to only publish brutal videos from IS terrorists. This is a sectarian civil war, where both sides have actively committed war crimes, "he says. New offensive matches. The Iraqi government declares that after the fighting in the city of Tikrit, their next destination is Anbar province, followed by the city of Mosul. These are two heavily fortified IS areas, where the terrorist group controls cities, civilians, roads, oil fields, hydropower plants and supply lines, according to Reuters. Iraq wants to send the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC), made up of dozens of Shia Muslim militia groups, to assist the Iraqi government army in fighting IS in Anbar province. The Shiite militias have deep ideological and organizational ties to Iran, and consist of a fighting force of about 20 soldiers. According to the website The Long War Journal, the government army consists of 3000 Iraqi government soldiers and 1000 Sunni Muslim security forces. Republicans in the US Congress went out last week and defended an authorization to distribute a quarter of $ 715 million to train and equip new military forces in Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The proposal is to give 25 percent of the funds directly to Kurdish peshmerga forces and Sunni Muslim militia groups in order to train and build a "Sunni Muslim Iraqi national army" to be able to take up the fight against IS. "Sunni Muslim tribes like al-Lehib are fighting alongside the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. "The tribe, originally from a village south of Mosul, has been divided between those who have joined IS and those who opposed their brutal rule," al-Obaide said. Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shiite militia leader, threatened to attack US interests in Iraq if the proposal was approved by Congress. President Obama had to signal his opposition to the proposals from the Republican House. The Iranian – backed Shiite militias are those who have previously attacked and killed thousands of US soldiers during their invasion of Iraq from 2004 to 2008. Risky. Iraqi Sunni Muslims have complained of discrimination and abuse since the United States replaced Saddam Hussein with a Shiite government. The dissatisfaction and war crimes on the part of the government army have contributed to an increase in radicalized men who want to enlist and fight for the Sunni Muslims in IS. The government in Baghdad is now trying to gather support among Sunni Muslims – a support that will probably be the key to fighting IS. The Iraqi government, for its part, has been very reluctant to arm Sunni Muslim tribes, which were previously the key to fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq. But for many Sunni Muslim civilians, cooperation poses a serious risk. Should they trust brutal Sunni Muslim extremists who kill civilians and try to establish a caliphate, or should they trust a Shiite Muslim government with a history full of broken promises and sectarian abuses? THE VIDEOS HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO MODERN TIMESS READERS at www.nytid.no. We warn against strong content! New Time: Rape Interview from Truls Lie on Vimeo. Government Army Chopper from New time on Vimeo.
Valsvik is a freelance journalist.
