Islamic State ‘committed genocide’ says US

U.S Secretary of State John Kerry declared that violence by Islamic State against religious minorities was genocide, saying the United States would do everything it could to hold the militant group accountable.

“In my judgment Daesh (IS) is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians and Shi’ite Muslims.”

“Naming these crimes is important, but what is essential is to stop them,” he said.

He said that he based his conclusion on information gathered by the State Department, intelligence service and other groups in the past few months.

But he said that the on-going conflict and lack of access made it impossible to develop “a fully detailed and comprehensive picture.”

Mr Kerry added that, ultimately, the “full facts” must be sought and that the US would “strongly support” efforts to collect evidence of IS atrocities.

The last time a U.S. administration made a genocide finding was in 2004, when the then-Secretary of State, Colin Powell, determined that genocide had occurred in Darfur and that the government of Sudan was responsible.