MONTH THAT WAS

Sexual Slavery by ISIS & No Fatwa

Paris: The ISIS is running an international market in Iraq where Christian and Yazidi women are sold as sexual slaves, a teenager who escaped said.

Jinan, 18, a Yazadi, was captured in early 2014 and held by ISIS jihadists for three months before she managed to flee, she said on a visit to Paris ahead the publication on Friday of a book about her ordeal.

Seized as ISIS fighters swept through northern regions inhabited by the Yazidi religious minority, Jinan was moved around between several locations before being bought by two men, a former policeman and an imam. She described how she other Yazidi prisoners were locked up in a house. “They tortured us, tried to forcefully convert us. If we refused we were beaten, chained outdoors in the sun, forced to drink water with dead mice in it. Sometimes they threatened to torture us with electricity,” she said.

“These men are not human. They only think of death, killing. They take drugs constantly. They seek vengeance against everyone. They say that one day Islamic State (ISIS) will rules over the whole world.”

In the book, Jinan describes how once, in Mosule, she was led into “a massive reception hall with large columns… Dozens of women were gathered there.”

“The fighters circulated among us, laughing raucously, pinching our backsides,” she writes in Daesh’s Slave, using an Arebic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

She said one man complained, saying: “That one has big breasts. But I want a Yazidi with blue eyes and pale skin. Those are the best apparently. I am willing to pay the price.”

During such “slave markets” she saw Iraqis and Syrians but also westerns whose nationality she could not discern.

The best-looking girls were reserved for the bosses or wealthy client from Gulf nations. Once she was sold, Jinan’s days were punctuated by men’s to the house where she was imprisoned with other women.

Fighters came to make their purchases in the foyer where traders acted as intermediaries between the slave owners and emirs who inspected the “livestock”, Jinan wrote in the book, which was written with the help of French journalist Thierry Oberle.

“I will exchange your Beretta pistol for the brunette,” said one of the traders, “If you prefer to pay cash it is $150 (133 Euros). You can also pay in Iraqi dinars.”

Convinced that she did not speak Arebic, Janin’s two owners spoke freely in front of her and one night she heard a conversation revealing the extent to which the slave trade is run like a business. “A man cannot purchase more than three women, unless he is from Syria, Turkey or a Gulf nation,” said one, named Abou Omar.”

It’s good for business,” replied the other, Abou Anas. “A Saudi buyer has transport and food costs that a member of the Islamic State does not. He has a higher quota to make his purchases profitable.

After managing to escape using a set of stolen keys, Jihan made her way back to her husband and is now living in a Yazidi refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan.

“If we go back home, there will be other genocides against us. The only solution is that we have a region to ourselves, under international protection,” she said.

SC pulls up states for laxity

New Delhi: The Supreme Court issued notice to the chief secretaries of four states for not being present court on August for a hearing on the compensation to be paid to the victims of acid attacks. An apex court bench of Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice C Nagappan issued notice as the four states- Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Mizoram- had neither filed their affidavit framing compensation schemes for acid attack victims nor were their chief secretaries present in the court as had been directed. The apex court had on August 18,2015, directed the state governments to fil e-affidavits stating their respective compensation schemes for acid attack victims.

No entry for Pakis & Iranians: Libya

Benghazi: Libya’s internationally recognized administration based in the east has banned Yemenis, Iranians and Pakistanis from entering the divided country, a military statement said on Tuesday.

The move widens a visa ban already applied to Sudanese, Bangladeshis, Palestinians and Syrians.

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni runs only a rump after a rival group seized Tripoli a year ago, setting ups its own parliament and a government not recognized by world powers.

Mr Thinni’s government and allied security forces would therefore only be able to enforce the ban at the eastern airports of Tobruk and Labraq and the land crossing with Egypt.

Top Army commander Khalifa Haftar, allied to Mr Thinni, signed the latest ban, which cited the overall security situation and a need to preserve “the nation’s security and stability”.

The decision, a copy of which was received by Reuters and confirmed by a senior military official, also said that Sudanese and Bangladeshi were not allowed to come to Libya, as mentioned in previous government statements.

Mr  Haftar has repeatedly accused Sudanese, Palestinians and Syrians of having joined Ansar al-Sharia and other Islamist groups which are his forces in the eastern city of Benghazi. He has also accused Yemenis of having joined Islamists.

In September 2014, Mr Thinni said Sudan had attempted to airlift weapons and ammunition to the new Tripoli rulers. Khartoum denied this, saying the weapons were meant for a joint border force under a bilateral agreement. 

LPG Cylinders at Kiraana Store!

New Delhi: After providing LPG in easy-to-carry 5-kg cylinders, the government is planning to launch 2-kg bottles at local Kirana stores even as it introduced online booking of new connections for subsidized cooking fuel. LPG is traditionally available in 14.2-kg cylinders, which are not very convenient to carry and its cost Rs 418 is considered high for poor and rural population. A 5-kg cylinder priced at Rs 155 was introduced on October 2013.

“We are now planning to introduce a 2–kg cylinder that can be easily carried… this will be particularly beneficial for the rural people and poor who cannot afford to pay the price of a 142-kg or even 5-kg cylinder,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here.

New subsidized connections of 5-kg cylinders in rural as well as far flung areas will be issued in first place. Pradhan was speaking at the launch of online booking of LPG connections.

“Consumers can now book a new connection online. It will be verified within 48 hours and a person from the nearest LPG agency will deliver a new connection at the door-step in next 3-4days,” he said.

He said the online booking will end hassles customers face in running to gas agencies for getting a new LPG connection. Already, a refill can be ordered online.

The 2-kg cylinder will cater to the LPG requirements for all sections of society including economically weaker families, students and migrant labourers who do not have proof of address due to acquiring residence on temporary basis. Such people can buy 5-kg LPG cylinder at market price. He also said about 25 lakh people have voluntarily given up subsidy on LPG, helping widen the reach the scarce fuel.