IRAQ
USA Today
Hannah Wiley, USA TODAY
April 17, 2018
Women and children in Iraq connected to Islamic State militants are being placed in refugee camps, where they are subjected to sexual abuse and denied basic needs like food and water, said an Amnesty International report released Tuesday.
Researchers believe the sustained mistreatment could lead to a new generation of supporters of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
“These women and children have such a deep sense of injustice, and the women kept telling us this will lead to a next cycle of violence and the next generation of ISIS,” said Nicolette Waldman, co-author of the report and Iraq researcher at Amnesty International. “These violations could very well lead to ISIS 2.0 and then it will be back to square one fighting another war in Iraq.”
ISIS began seizing Iraqi territories in February 2014 and swiftly extended its control throughout Iraq and into Syria and Libya. After four years of United States’ intervention in the region, Iraq claimed victory over ISIS in late 2017. But the cleanup efforts have only just begun, starting with arresting and putting to death suspected ISIS militants, and placing women and children connected to fighters in camps.
Journalists and humanitarian workers at the camp are worried about long-term implications from the sexual abuse, including pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases.
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