UN slams Western security firms in Iraq

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BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AP): The United Nations urged US authorities Thursday to hold private security firms accountable for unjustified killings of Iraqi civilians and warned against increasing reliance on the heavily armed guards.
The UN Assistance Mission to Iraq also expressed concern that too many Iraqi civilians are being killed in US military operations as part of a security crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
The biannual human rights report noted several reports of "killings carried out by privately hired contractors with security-related functions in support of US government authorities."
Guards working for the Australian-owned security company Unity Resources Group fired on a car as it approached their convoy Tuesday, killing two women civilians before speeding away.
Blackwater USA, the largest American firm protecting US diplomats, also is under scrutiny of killing 17 Iraqis after opening fire on an intersection in central Baghdad on Sept. 16. The company also said its guards were responding to an armed attack.
But the cases have provoked outrage among Iraqis who have long hated what they see as overly aggressive behavior by the security contractors.
The Iraqi government has launched investigations and a joint US-Iraqi panel has been created to review the practices of the security companies, which generally have enjoyed immunity and little oversight in Iraq.