Iraqi government and paramilitary forces are committing serious human rights abuses [press release] and war crimes, according to an Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] report [text, PDF] Tuesday. AI claims that both the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are perpetrating acts of arbitrary detainment against internally displaced persons (IDP), particularly Sunni Arabs. In Iraqi-controlled territories, IDPs reportedly face further acts of abduction, torture and extrajudicial execution. According to the report, many of the abuses are carried out by the Iraqi government-backed Shi’a militias when IDPs turn themselves over to their authority. Citizens are fleeing conflict between the government forces and the Islamic State (IS). Once displaced by the conflict, the report claims Sunni Arabs are subjected to revenge punishment by the government forces for the crimes of IS.

Historic tension between Sunni and Shi’a groups (also known as Shi’ite, and Shiite) has drawn renewed international scrutiny in recent months. Earlier this week the Bahrain Court of Cassation overturned the sentence [JURIST report] of a Shi’a opposition leader who had been convicted for insulting the Interior Ministry, inciting others to break the law, and inciting hatred against naturalized Sunnis. In May Pakistani human rights activist Khurram Zaki was killed by unidentified gunmen [JURIST report] in Karachi. Zaki was an activist that campaigned against religious extremism and cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz of a radical Sunni mosque who incites hatred against Shi’a Muslims. In January Human Rights Watch accused Iraqi Shi’a militias of carrying out “revenge attacks” [JURIST report] against Sunnis in wake of an IS suicide bombing attack at a local cafe.