Radio Marsho has reported that parents of Chechen mujahedeen were used as human shields once again in the Russian occupied Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

According to the information, on September 25 at 11.00am a group of parents of the Chechen national liberation movement’s members were taken to a wooded area in the Vedeno district by Russian soldiers and their armed local collaborators. The invaders are afraid of mines, booby traps and surprise attacks by Chechen fighters during their so-called military operations, so they use the parents of Chechen fighters as shields.

It was also reported that the pro-Russian regime in the Russian occupied Chechen Republic of Ichkeria continues to pull the parents and relatives of Chechen fighters from their jobs and prevent them from working.

We must remind you that under international law, both parties to a conflict must keep military assets as far as possible from concentrations of civilians. It is also a war crime to use ANY civilians as human shields. According to Article 51 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions: “The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objects from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military operations”. In the agreement, Article 28 of Geneva Convention IV mandates that “the presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations”. The Roma Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8 (2) (b) (xxiii), recognizes the use of human shields as a war crime.

*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco