NEW YORK, Aug 16 (AFP) - Human Rights Watch warned Monday the expulsion of journalists from Najaf raised serious concerns for civilians in the Shiite Muslim holy city during a threatened US-led assault on militia hideouts.
The New York-based watchdog said combatants free from international press scrutiny might fail to protect Iraqi civilians. It also warned that media coverage of the fighting might be confined to journalists "embedded" with US military units.
"Forces fighting in built-up areas like Najaf must take all precautions to avoid harming civilians and not use weapons, whether sophisticated warplanes or common mortars -- indiscriminately," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.
"The ban on press coverage raises concern that combatants could disregard their obligations to protect civilians."
Iraqi and foreign journalists, including an AFP correspondent, left Najaf Sunday under threat of arrest by police.
Najaf police chief General Ghaleb al-Jazairi said journalists had to leave for their own safety, saying they were being targeted by a massive car bomb.
Human Rights Watch also rebuked the US military for claiming that 360 militiamen were killed after heavy fighting in the city on August 5 without addressing "the question of civilian casualties."
The US military has called on residents to leave Najaf and hundreds have fled to nearby towns.
Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders earlier demanded the Iraqi government immediately reverse the expulsion order, which came a day after authorities in Baghdad vowed to launch a major assault on the forces in Najaf of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.