July 24, 2014

Isis, earlier pledging to free also Palestine, orders all women and girls in Mosul to undergo female genital mutilation

editor:	Murat Suner

A few weeks ago in June, before the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated, the Islamist militants of ISIS have declared an Islamic "caliphate" in an area straddling Iraq and Syria, which they now call IS, Islamic State, claiming the rule over all Muslims.

A jihadist member of IS referred in a video message to end Sykes-Picot - the agreement between France and Britain that divided up the Ottoman empire territories after the first world war - and said: "This is not the first border we will break, we will break other borders." Later on he swears and urges all jihadists to free Palestine.

Meanwhile, IS issued a "fatwa" to leave no doubt what kind of order they are intending to install in their controlled area. According the the United Nations the militant group has ordered all girls and women in and around Iraq's northern city of Mosul to undergo female genital mutilation, reports the Guardian

The "fatwa" issued by the Sunni Muslim fighters would potentially affect 4 million women and girls, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Jacqueline Badcock, told reporters in Geneva by videolink from Irbil.

"This is something very new for Iraq, particularly in this area, and is of grave concern and does need to be addressed. This is not the will of Iraqi people, or the women of Iraq in these vulnerable areas covered by the terrorists" she said.