Prime Minister Abadi during his tour of Mosul (Al Sumaria)
The much expected victory announcement in Mosul was delayed
for another day. That wasn’t apparent at first. State TV claimed
that the city was liberated. The prime minister’s office than released a statement that he
was in the city to declare it freed. The premier arrived
in Mosul and did a tour to visit with units from the Iraqi forces (ISF) to
congratulate them, and said he was in the “liberated city.” He then returned
to the Ninewa Operations command without making the actual victory speech. A
spokesman for the cabinet told
the press that the PM would not give his address until all areas of Mosul were
cleared. That’s expected to occur at the Nouri Mosque, where Islamic State
leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the caliphate. The Iraqi forces and
government have been anticipating the end of the battle for days now. Many
Iraqis are not waiting and there were celebrations throughout the country.
On the ground the ISF were still attempting to take the last
two neighborhoods in the Old City of west Mosul. At the start of the day the
Golden Division freed
the Maidan area and reached the Tigris River. Maidan was declared
liberated once before. The unit was also trying to seize Qalahat, while the
army was fighting in Shahwan.
Coalition planes were hitting
the two areas. There were various estimates of how many IS fighters were left,
but they were said to be hold up in 50-100
houses, and have taken several families with them as hostages. Additionally,
three suicide bombers were caught trying
to infiltrate east Mosul, and 30 or so insurgents were killed
attempting to escape by crossing the Tigris River. On the other hand, around
250 people fled
the Old City. 25% were said to have been wounded. Much of this was missed with
all the celebrating going on. The Iraqis are hoping to take these last two
neighborhoods by July 10, but the fighting has been so intense that no
timetable is reliable.
There is also a serious confrontation going on southeast of
Mosul in Imam al-Gharbi. IS attacked four villages on July 5 and seized Imam
al-Gharbi, and has held
it since then. The insurgents are threatening the nearby Qayara air base as
well. A unit from the Golden Division, the army’s 16th Division,
former Ninewa governor Atheel Nujafi’s Ninewa Guards, and tribal Hashd units
are all involved
in trying to re-take it. The Iraqis are being subdued about this, but the fact
that the insurgents have been able to hold the town for four days now
illustrates the threat to the rear this is posing. The Qayara air base for
example has U.S. troops and is an important transportation and logistics hub in
Ninewa.
After Mosul is done the Iraqi forces will move on Tal Afar
to the west. It’s been announced that the army and police will take part. Now
news came out that the Hashd’s Al Abbas Division will
take part as well. The unit is loyal to Najaf and Ayatollah Sistani, and has
worked closely with the ISF before. The Hashd, mostly the ones close to Iran
have been chomping at the bit for months now to take Tal Afar. They will likely
still be disappointed they will be excluded.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report on the latest
confrontation between the Kurds, Hashd, and Yazidis in Sinjar. The Hashd
recently freed the remaining towns in the district from the Islamic State. That
was harshly criticized by the Kurds who claimed they had a deal with Baghdad to
keep any non-Kurdish force out of the area. That set off a war of words between
the two sides. HRW talked
with four Yazidi families who claimed they were threatened, and then expelled
from displacement camps because a relative joined the Hashd. There were reports
that 15 other families had been kicked out as well, but HRW could not confirm
their stories. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) considers Sinjar an area
that should be under its control. That has fallen apart since it abandoned the
Yazidis to the Islamic State back in 2014. Now they are facing all kinds of
challenges to their hegemony, most recently the Hashd. Harassing families that
have aligned themselves with the Hashd is just the latest tactic the KDP has
employed to try to re-establish their authority. The situation is so diffuse in
Sinjar currently, that the party is unlikely to be successful.
With the Mosul battle coming to an end the government is
facing the huge task of rebuilding. The Ninewa government estimated that
west Mosul has suffered 30 times more damage than the east. The United Nations believes
it could cost up to $1 billion to just restore basic services, let alone repair
all the homes and buildings. Baghdad doesn’t have the money to pay for all
this, so it is hoping to get loans from the World Bank and attract donors from
the international community. That is likely to be a frustrating experience as
the country has not gotten much so far. For example, the U.N. said
it only got 43% of the $985 million it request for relief aid this year. In
fact, the organization’s programs in Iraq have been chronically underfunded for
years now. The Iraqi government is likely to go through the same situation,
which will have a detrimental effect upon Mosul and Ninewa in general.
Finally, while the government has restored the power grid to
parts of east Mosul, most of the population is relying upon private generators
to get their electricity. The owners of that equipment are demanding high fees
be paid upfront. The Ninewa provincial government has asked for prices to be
brought down since few people in the city are earning a living, but they have
no real influence over the operators. A similar situation is occurring with
rents. With people moving back, demand for housing is going up, and so are the
prices. The Ninewa authorities asked for those to be reduced as well, but like
generators, no one is listening to them. These are some of the many struggles
residents of the city are going through right now as they are trying to put
their lives together. Amazingly, many people interviewed are still optimistic
about their future.
SOURCES
AIN, “Abadi: the
victory in Mosul is at hand and besieged civilians in 100 houses,” 7/9/17
- “Abadi selects the
Grand Nouri Mosque as the place to announce victory in Mosul,” 7/9/17
Arango, Tim and
Gordon, Michael, “Iraqi Prime Minister Arrives in Mosul to Declare Victory Over
ISIS,” New York Times, 7/9/17
Baghdad Post, “Full
elimination of ISIS myth matter of time, says Abadi,” 7/9/17
- “Iraqi state TV
announces full liberation of Mosul city from ISIS,” 7/9/17
Bas News, “3 IS
Suicide Bombers Killed As Infiltrating East Mosul,” 7/9/17
- “35 IS Militants Killed While Fleeing Mosul’s Old City,”
7/9/17
BBC, “Mosul: Iraq PM
to celebrate victory over IS in the city,” 7/9/17
Bulos, Nabih, “Iraqi
prime minister declares victory over Islamic State in Mosul,” Los Angeles
Times, 7/9/17
Buratha News, “Abbas
Brigade announces that it has received orders from the joint forces to
participate in the liberation of Tal Afar,” 7/9/17
Deparcq, Emmanuel,
“Exhausted and mourning, families emerge from Mosul ruins,” Agence France
Presse, 7/9/17
Elmanzalawy, Elwy, “Nineveh council says IS detains
civilians in Mosul’s Old City,” Iraqi News, 7/9/17
Graham-Harrison,
Emma, “Iraq announces ‘victory’ over Islamic State in Mosul,” Guardian, 7/9/17
Human Rights Watch,
“Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Yezidi Fighters’ Families Expelled,” 7/9/17
Iraq Newspaper,
“Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: Bloody Battles Now To Lift The Siege On The
Qayara Air Base,” 7/9/17
Irish Times, “Iraq
declares ‘victory’ over Islamic State in Mosul,” 7/9/17
Kalin, Stephen,
“Iraqi Prime Minister congratulates armed forces for Mosul ‘victory,’” Reuters,
7/9/17
Khadder, Kareem,
Walsh, Nick Paton and Abdelaziz, Salma, “Iraq’s PM claims Mosul victory, but
state TV says ISIS fighters remain,” CNN, 7/9/17
Mostafa, Mohamed,
“UPDATED: Iraqi forces advancing in IS’s last pockets in Mosul,” Iraqi News,
7/9/17
Al Mustaqbal
Newspaper, “Mosul: news of Abadi leaving the Nineveh operations headquarters
without officially declaring victory,” 7/9/17
New Sabah, “Calls to
stop the greed of electricity generator owners in Mosul,” 7/9/17
Norwegian Refugee
Council, “End of the battle for Mosul isn’t’ end of ordeal for civilians,”
7/9/17
Rudaw, “Governor:
Destruction in west Mosul 30 times higher than city’s east,” 7/9/17
- “Iraqi PM Abadi
arrives in Mosul to salute forces for ‘great victory,’” 7/9/17
Shafaaq News,
“Counterterrorism pursues the last 30 Daesh in Mosul,” 7/9/17
- “Source: Daesh
still controls 60% of Imam al-Gharbi,” 7/9/17
Sputnik News Arabic,
“Postponement of the declaration of victory in Mosul the area are completely
cleared,” 7/9/17
UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Humanitarian funding is urgently
required to assist 700,000 civilians displaced from Mosul,” 7/9/17
Waradana, "Freed entire Maidan area in the
Old City," 7/7/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi
forces corner IS militants into last pocket in Mosul’s Old City,” 7/9/17
- “Iraqi PM demands
army guarantee security in Mosul,” 7/9/17
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