Will Popular Mobilization Units join operations to liberate Mosul?

NAJAF, Iraq — On March 24, Brig. Gen. Yahay Rasoul, the spokesman for the Joint Special Operations Command, the special operations task force in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), told Iraqi state TV that the operation to liberate Mosul was jointly launched by the Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition. Prior to the announcement, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement in February that the campaign to liberate Mosul would be launched soon. In a TV statement Dec. 28, he said that the mission would be completed in 2016.

However, disagreements between the forces that will be involved in the Mosul liberation continue to prevail in the political scene. This is true particularly since the Arab Sunnis fear the engagement of the peshmerga forces and the predominantly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units in the fighting in Mosul. This fear is understandable since the peshmerga forces represent the Kurds and the Popular Mobilization Units represent the Shiites. Sunni Arabs have warned against the presence of these two forces in Mosul and its surroundings, as the Sunnis fear the repercussions that could occur if Kurdish and Shiite forces enter the city, which has a Sunni majority and other small minorities.

The Sunni-majority Ninevah provincial council voted Feb. 29 to oppose the units’ participation in the battle to liberate Mosul. However, this decision was objected to by the members of the national parliament who represent minority communities in Mosul; Ninevah also includes non-Muslim minorities such as Christians and Shiite-affiliated minorities such as the Shabak and the Turkmens.

These minorities have nothing against the presence of the Popular Mobilization Units in Mosul, as they welcome any force able to liberate them and ensure their survival.