UNITED NATIONS: Islamic State militants committed genocide against Iraq's Yazidis in the north of the country and carried out crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes against other minorities, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum said on Thursday.
The crimes were committed against Christian, Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak, Sabaean-Mandaean, and Kaka'i people in Nineveh province between June and August 2014, found a report by the museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
"We believe Islamic State has been and is perpetrating genocide against the Yazidi people," the report said. "Islamic State's stated intent and patterns of violence against Shia Shabak and Shia Turkmen also raise concerns about the commission and risk of genocide against these groups."
The United Nations said in March that Islamic State may have committed genocide in trying to wipe out the Yazidi minority and urged the U.N. Security Council to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
Islamic State militants have seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. Both states are not members of the Hague-based court so its prosecutor is unable to open an investigation unless a referral is made by the 15-member Security Council.
A US-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
The crimes were committed against Christian, Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak, Sabaean-Mandaean, and Kaka'i people in Nineveh province between June and August 2014, found a report by the museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
"We believe Islamic State has been and is perpetrating genocide against the Yazidi people," the report said. "Islamic State's stated intent and patterns of violence against Shia Shabak and Shia Turkmen also raise concerns about the commission and risk of genocide against these groups."
The United Nations said in March that Islamic State may have committed genocide in trying to wipe out the Yazidi minority and urged the U.N. Security Council to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
Islamic State militants have seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. Both states are not members of the Hague-based court so its prosecutor is unable to open an investigation unless a referral is made by the 15-member Security Council.
A US-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
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