RNA - The anti-terrorism units of Iraq's police force have managed to fully liberate two strategic districts of Kokjeli and Al-Sameh on the Eastern edge of the Northern city. The development comes after they retook Mosul's Radio and TV broadcasting station, making it the first major building to be recaptured from ISIL.
Mosul has been under the control of ISIL for more than two years with a million, perhaps more, people still living there. The universally hated Wahhabi extremists are now resorting to desperate tactics to protect their self-declared caliphate. It is obvious that they will lose, but not how long this will take to happen:
The timeline of the battle is being determined by several variables. One such factor is that the terrorists are using civilians as human shields. That's something that we have seen before in Ramadi. And ISIL have done this in other places. That said, the government troops have opened up several humanitarian corridors for civilians to escape. So mass civilian casualties will not result if they keep advancing towards the heavily populated residential areas. This is a good sign for the people of Mosul.
There is no doubt that this is a huge psychological moment for Iraq too. Mosul fell to ISIL more than two years ago, almost without a fight - with help from former Baathist officers and regional sponsors. It was a colossal failure to the army and the federal police who were holding the city at the time. So like their officials, people have been waiting for this moment - also somewhat anxiously.
The thing is, there is no love lost between the locals and the universally hated terrorist group. Nobody in Mosul has anything good to say about ISIL. Sunni Arabs in the Middle East tend to be protective of Mosul and its inhabitants, but they are also playing down any collaboration of city elites with ISIL, insisting that supporters of the terrorist organization are a small minority. All this and more means that the Iraqi government’s reconquest of the city will lead to national integration and not a breakup of the country.
The same cannot be said about “officials” and “pundits” in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, though. The self-absorbed Persian Gulf oil monarchies have promoted sectarianism and exported Wahhabi extremist violence to Iraq and Syria. They are also the ones that have attacked and destroyed Yemen’s civil society. It is obvious that in both instances, in Iraq and Syria, the regime changers are not prepared to accept defeat. They have not been able to achieve what they want. They have also been stymied in Yemen where their attempt to re-assert their power through war has suffered a serious setback as a result of the decision of people to fight back.
How can we check such wanton arrogance? After the liberation of Mosul, Iraq will be in a more stable situation than at any time since the medieval goons engulfed the whole of humanity. Just like in Ramadi, Fallujah and Tikrit, the political process in Mosul will encompass all the factions in society in an equitable manner. The city will not fall into reprisals and score-setting.
Once again, it is the universal, national identity and far-sighted policy-making that will win out over ethnicity and sectarianism. Despite the shenanigans, the ongoing campaign is a national effort, not a sectarian one. Even a Christian militia, the Nineveh Plains Forces, has joined in the battle. It is unfortunate that the Saudi-led cabal is trying to suggest otherwise. It is time that they atone for their sins.
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