BAGHDAD, Iraq – Many residents of Baghdad, terrified that Sunni Islamist militants who have captured cities are advancing toward the Iraqi capital, called on the government to bring in Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight to push back the jihadists.
Since Tuesday, the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has captured Mosul, Tikrit and other cities and towns, in a lightning advance that has seen Iraqi forces abandoning their weapons and posts, tearing off their uniforms and fleeing.
In Kurdish areas outside its official borders, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north has moved in its own Peshmerga military to take over abandoned Iraqi Army positions, including in the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk which is reportedly under full Peshmerga control.
Strategy expert Mohammed al-Kaabbi said that the ISIS is seeking to establish a state that would include parts of Iraq and Syria, adding that the Iraqi government must make use of all resources, most importantly the Peshmerga forces, to thwart the militants.
“The policy of ISIS militants is not necessarily to keep the areas or control them. They want to open multiple fronts, trying to confuse the military’s counter actions, also trying to control the regions near the Syrian border where the Peshmerga are absent,” he said.
“Iraq needs a clear security strategy to address the security situation in the country through the use of all capabilities and expertise, the most important being Peshmarga strike forces, who are experts and understand the geography of these regions well.”
“The governments in Baghdad and Erbil must not overlook or neglect the movements of militants who disappear during the day and reappear at night to redeploy,” he warned.
The security and political situation in Iraq deepened further as the Shiite-Arab Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tried to declare a state of emergency, after ISIS gunmen took control of Mosul and advanced toward Salahaddin province.
The Iraqi parliament postponed the meeting scheduled for today to discuss the situation and declare an emergency until further notice, after receiving a request from the offices of the president and ministers.
Abbas Mohsen, a 33-year-old in eastern Baghdad, said that Maliki’s government needs the Peshmergas not only to protect the Kurdistan Region’s three provinces and “disputed territories” that are claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad, but even in Salahaddin and Anbar.
“The Kurds are part of Iraq and it’s their duty to stand by the federal government in the fight against terrorism and to stabilize Iraq,” he said.
“Relying on Peshmerga expertise through joint coordination, exchange of information, intelligence and expertise with the Iraqi army could save the security situation,” he added.
“Coordinating efforts between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army and police to manage the security situation is vital.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council condemned the violence in Mosul by “terrorist organizations trying to destabilize the region.” It emphasized that discussions would take place on Friday for possible action against the ISIS forces in Iraq.
“The Security Council condemns in the strongest terms the recent events in the city of Mosul in Iraq, where the elements of the terrorist organization (ISIS) took control of large parts of the city, including the Turkish consulate and many government buildings and displaced hundreds of thousands of people,” the council said in a statement. “The recent terrorist attacks... against the Iraqi people are an attempt to destabilize the country and the region,” it added.
Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations and president of the Security Council for the current month, said in a statement to journalists that, “The proposals for possible action against ISIS has progressed during the discussion of the Council on Iraq on Thursday.”
Fatima al-Shammari, 30 and from central Baghdad, said that Maliki’s government must grant the Peshmergas “a key role in the battle against ISIS militants.”
"At this point they need to forgo their differences and unify efforts to save Iraq and its citizens from the control of insurgents who wreak havoc in the land,” she said. “The primary objective collectively must be how to get rid of them.”
Journalist Zia-Khalifa, meanwhile, said that all Iraqis know that the Kurdish Peshmergas are battle-tested and experienced in the kind of guerrilla warfare needed to dislodge the militants and push them back, while after months of fighting in Anbar and other parts of Iraq the Iraqi Army failed to make any headway against them.
“The landslide military defeats by the Iraqi army are a big reason why Peshmerga forces should take over,” Khalifa opined.
The secretary-general of the Ministry of Peshmerga, Jabbar Yawar, on Thursday said the Kurdish forces are in full control of the city of Kirkuk. “The whole of Kirkuk is in the hands of the Peshmarga and the Iraqi army has no presence in Kirkuk now,” he said.
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