The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) continued to push east and
south towards the Tigris River and the Old City district respectively. The Rawsahn
neighborhood was freed by the Golden Division, while the northern section of Tamuz
17 was brought under control. The problem with the latter is that the ISF
claimed to have liberated all of Tamuz 17 twice before.
The Iraqis are on the verge of taking Mosul, yet still exaggerate their gains.
The victory narrative pushed by Baghdad since 2014 seems to require positive news
be reported everyday both real and imagined.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum called
the damage done to Mosul “horrendous”. He didn’t know how much it would cost to
rebuild the city, but thought it would be considerable. East Mosul had a few
districts that were heavily shelled and bombed, but much of the west appears to
be destroyed.
The Hashd took
another village in western Ninewa. It also announced
that a tribal force that had worked with the Peshmerga switched to its side.
Nayef Jassim Qassim took his unit form the Mindikan tribe and joined the Hashd
in the Sinjar district on May 18. This is exactly why the Kurds have complained
about the Hashd’s presence in Sinjar. They are already competing with the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Yazidi groups for hegemony over the area, and
now the Hashd have entered and are freeing towns, and turning locals to their
side further complicating things. That could lead to a military confrontation
with the Peshmerga if the Kurds decide to seize areas to block the Hashd or a
political controversy or both.
Rudaw talked
with the brother of the Ninewa governor who was filmed in an Islamic State
video giving it baya and denouncing anti-IS forces. Sheikh Faisal Hamadi
appeared in an insurgent film on April 7 attacking his brother the Ninewa
governor and the Peshmerga, and giving allegiance to the Islamists. He claimed
he would have been killed if he didn’t cooperate. He now lives in Irbil. The
fate of individuals like the sheikh will be a big issue after Ninewa is freed.
There are many that would want to arrest Hamadi and put him on trial for
instance. So far there is no government reconciliation program or ideas on how
to deal with pro-IS individuals or collaborators.
Displaced continued to face more problems. The United
Nations had 376,230 people registered as displaced (IDPs). There are many
more that never signed up. Their numbers are rising quickly with the new
fighting in northwest Mosul. From May 11-18 over 80,000 came out of the city.
Many, after they were screened, moved to east Mosul to be near their homes. Now
around 5,000 have left the east due to a lack of jobs, and have moved to
Kurdistan. A smaller group of IDPs are going back to west Mosul as well. From
May 10-17 around 2,500 moved there. The U.N. estimated that up to a 1/3 of the
displaced lack their government documents. Without them they can’t get aid or
safely move around the country. The organization has gotten mobile courts to
visit camps in Kurdistan to attempt to address this issue. It was just a month
ago when more people were leaving camps than arriving. Now that trend has been
reversed. The IDP situation has ebbed and flowed depending upon the violence in
Mosul. Soon the city will be liberated and people will start heading back to
their home areas once again.
SOURCES
Associated Press,
“Iraq president says scale of Mosul destruction ‘horrendous,’” 5/19/17
Baghdad Post, "Iraqi forces recapture 3 new
districts in Mosul's right bank," 5/13/17
Al Forat, “The
popular crowd liberates the village of Qahira south of Qayrawan,” 5/19/17
George, Susannah,
“Airstrikes fuel Mosul gains as Iraq pushes for quick victory,” Associated
Press, 5/19/17
Gibbons-Neff, Thomas and Salim, Mustafa, “The Islamic
State’s last stand in Mosul will test the best of Iraqi forces,” Washington
Post, 5/19/17
Kurdi, Mahmud Yasin,
“Brother of Mosul governor recalls betrayal of family under ISIS,” 5/19/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, "Iraqi forces retake
Rawshan area in western Mosul: command," Iraqi News
Mostafa, Nehal, "Iraqi troops recapture
half of biggest western Mosul district," Iraqi News, 5/19/17
New Sabah, "Freed Iqtisadin and Tamuz 17 in
West Mosul," 5/17/17
Tomson, Chris,
“Kurdish Unit Defects to Iraqi Army Ranks in Nineveh Province,” Al Masdar,
5/18/17
UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update – 18 May 2017,” 5/18/17
Valmary, Simon, “On
Mosul’s front line, Iraqi refuses to quit beloved home,” Agence France Presse,
5/19/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi
forces push further in western Mosul amid heavy clashes,” 5/19/17
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