UN report details 'staggering array' of human rights abuses in Iraq

GENEVA (Xinhua) - A United Nations report released Thursday listed a "staggering array" of gross human rights abuses and sectarian "acts of violence" committed by the Islamic State in Iraq.

In the report, the UN held the Islamic State and associated armed groups responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law during the period from July 6 to Sept. 10.

The report also documented violations of humanitarian and human rights laws reportedly committed by Iraqi security forces and affiliated armed groups.

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov called the report "terrifying," adding hundreds of other allegations concerning civilian deaths are still under investigation.

"Iraqi leaders must act in unity to restore control over areas that have been taken over by Islamic State and implement inclusive social, political and economic reforms," he stated.

The report, produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, follows Wednesday's announcement by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq that a total of at least 9,347 civilians have been killed and 17,386 wounded so far in 2014.

Well over half of the atrocities have taken place since the Islamic State began overrunning large parts of the north in early June, according to the report.

Targeted attacks have included abduction, child labor, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against women and children, execution and other killings.   It noted that these communities are being intentionally and systematically targeted with the aim of suppressing or cleansing them from areas under Islamic State control.