- Title: Mosul fight could fracture Iraq - former Sunni governor
- Date: 5th October 2016
- Summary: ERBIL, IRAQ (OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FLAGS OF IRAQ AND HASHID WATANI FLAGS OF SUNNI MILITIA HASHID WATANI, AND SUNNI BLOC IN PARLIAMENT MUTAHIDOON FORMER GOVERNOR OF MOSUL, ATHEEL AL-NUJAIFI, DURING INTERVIEW CLOSE-UP OF SIGN FOR HASHID WEATANI FOR NINEVEH LIBERATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER GOVERNOR OF MOSUL, ATHEEL AL-NUJAIFI, SAYING: "The biggest fear is that Iraq will separate… (REPORTER ASKING: 'Would be?') would disappear if they don't control this fight in wise manner, and they don't give the Arab Sunnis real authority and deal with them as a real partner, I think Iraq will separate. (REPORTER ASKING: 'It will be divided into?') Yeah, maybe it will be divided more than three or four portions. I think that even in Baghdad they will have the same problems." AL-NUJAIFI DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER GOVERNOR OF MOSUL, ATHEEL AL-NUJAIFI, SAYING: "The Mosul battle, or how to manage this battle, will keep Iraq as one unit Iraq, but with a new kind of administration." AL-NUJAIFI DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FORMER GOVERNOR OF MOSUL, ATHEEL AL-NUJAIFI, SAYING: "Kurds are partners on the ground. We have no problems with them. Almost 25-30 percent of the population of Nineveh governorate is Kurds and it is reflected in the elections because of their population percentage. Hence their political influence in the governorate is natural. Also we have no problems in dealing with them. But in terms of the Shi'ite militias, they are an alien or strange entity in the governorate." AL-NUJAIFI (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FORMER GOVERNOR OF MOSUL, ATHEEL AL-NUJAIFI, SAYING: "In terms of the Kurds there is no problem and we can solve this issue. We have a vision to solve the issue with the Kurds and the Kurds are fully abiding by it. But in terms of the Iranian presence this is very dangerous for Nineveh governorate."
- Embargoed: 20th October 2016 14:09
- Keywords: Mosul Iraq Sunni al-Nujaifi battle
- Location: ERBIL / MOSUL, IRAQ
- City: ERBIL / MOSUL, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00152QB9SL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The battle for Mosul will be a make-or-break moment for Iraq that could split the country along ethnic and sectarian lines, said the former regional governor who has assembled a force which will take part in the campaign.
Iraq has been preparing for more than a year for its offensive to drive Islamic State out of its last major stronghold. The operation is expected to kick off this month.
What happens after a victory could present an even bigger challenge than the battle, however -- Sunnis, Kurds and Shi'ites who have formed an uneasy alliance against the militants will be faced with the daunting task of drawing up an effective power-sharing formula in Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer.
Mosul fell to Islamic State in June 2014 when Iraqi security forces fled. Islamic State declared a caliphate which straddled territory in Iraq and Syria, with Mosul as its de facto capital.
In August, an Iraqi parliamentary panel blamed the then-governor of Mosul and a handful of other politicians and military commanders for the group's lightning capture of the predominantly Sunni city.
Atheel al-Nujaifi, a prominent Sunni politician who was governor in Mosul when Islamic State seized the city, warned that Iraq would split if Sunnis are not empowered.
"The biggest fear is that Iraq will separate… would disappear if they don't control this fight in wise manner, and they don't give the Arab Sunnis real authority and deal with them as a real partner, I think Iraq will separate," said al-Nujaifi. "Maybe (Iraq) will be divided more than three or four portions. I think that even in Baghdad they will have the same problems."
Nujaifi told Reuters he is committed to promoting unity in Iraq, which has descended into a sectarian civil war since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
He also suggested that calm could only come with more regional autonomy, an idea which angers the central Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad.
Minority Sunnis held many positions of authority under Saddam, but their fortunes declined after the U.S. occupation. Majority Shi'ites now dominate government and military posts.
"The Mosul battle, or how to manage this battle, will keep Iraq as one unit Iraq, but with a new kind of administration" he said.
The politician has patched together a force of about 4,500 fighters, mostly Iraqi soldiers and former officers from Nineveh Province, of which Mosul is the capital, to take part in the offensive.
Trained by 200 Turkish military advisors and U.S. forces, Nujaifi says his men are more likely to succeed in stabilising Mosul because they are locals who can win over the population.
Nujaifi praised cooperation with the Kurds but criticised the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, underscoring sensitivities ahead of the Mosul campaign.
Sunnis accuse the militias of widespread human rights abuses against them, which they deny.
The militias, who have been a bulwark against Islamic State's advances, say they are protecting Iraq from terrorists.
"Kurds are partners on the ground. We have no problems with them. Almost 25-30 percent of the population of Nineveh governorate is Kurds and it is reflected in the elections because of their population percentage. Hence their political influence in the governorate is natural. Also we have no problems in dealing with them. But in terms of the Shi'ite militias, they are an alien or strange entity in the governorate," Nujaifi said in his spacious villa in the Kurdish city of Erbil.
"In terms of the Kurds there is no problem and we can solve this issue. We have a vision to solve the issue with the Kurds and the Kurds are fully abiding by it. But in terms of the Iranian presence this is very dangerous for Nineveh governorate," he said in the interview, as armed men in green military fatigues stood guard.
Underscoring the complexities, Nujaifi's ally Turkey is wary of Iraq's Kurds because it fears their semi-autonomous state in the north will encourage Kurds in Turkey to press for independence.
A survivor of 15 assassination attempts by Islamic State in Mosul, Nujaifi is a prime example of Iraq's complex dangers. He said he gets frequent death threats from both the Sunni Islamic State and the Shi'ite militias. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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