ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The biggest political entity in Mosul has set out plans for after the liberation of Nineveh province from Islamic State (ISIS), declaring the province must become an autonomous region with six to eight smaller provinces.
“We are with changing the structure of Nineveh province, making it an [autonomous] region with six to eight provinces,” said Atheel Nojaifi, former Mosul governor and head of the Al Hadba party, adding that “this way, all the groups in the region can enjoy a self-administration system since they can no longer trust any other promises for their protection.”
Nojaifi also explained that he had “discussed this matter with [Iraqi Prime Minister] Haider al-Abadi and he was not against this project.”
Nojaifi’s plans conflict with Kurdish aspirations in the Nineveh plains. Shingal, which is part of Nineveh province, has been claimed by the Kurds after Kurdish forces led its liberation; but it is one of the areas disputed with Baghdad.
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani has persistently emphasized that areas that are liberated with the blood of the Peshmerga will come under Kurdish administration.
Christians who were evicted by ISIS when the group took over their lands in the Nineveh plains are also calling for the formation of a Christian province in the region because they are afraid of the post-ISIS era.
“We have asked that the Nineveh plains be turned into a province, because we are afraid we cannot live peacefully together with the people we used to live with before ISIS came in,” said Romio Hakari, head of the Christian Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party.
Hakari also claimed that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “should guarantee the safety and lives of the Christians in Kurdistan, too.”
Barzani has expressed his support for establishing a protected area for the Christian community in Nineveh to be run by the joint administration of different entities from Mosul.
Christian and Shabak representatives from Mosul welcomed Barzani’s support.
“After the arrival of ISIS to the area and the support many Sunnis gave to ISIS in the region, this caused distrust between entities so it is impossible to live together as before,” Joseph Slewa, a Christian member of the Iraqi parliament told Rudaw.
He has asked for the establishment of a Christian province in the Nineveh plains under UN supervision.
In the summer of 2014, ISIS swept into northern Iraq, seizing control of the area. The city of Mosul and some areas of Nineveh province are still to be liberated from the terrorist group.
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