Shi'ite militias say will support Iraqi
army offensive on Mosul
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[October 19, 2016]
By Maher Chmaytelli and Babak Dehghanpisheh
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - A Shi'ite
paramilitary force said it would support the Iraqi army's offensive on
Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq, raising the risk
of sectarian strife in the mainly Sunni region.
The Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), a coalition of mostly
Iranian-trained militias, said late on Tuesday it would back Iraqi
government forces advancing toward Tal Afar, about 55 kilometers (34
miles) west of Mosul.
Taking Tal Afar would effectively cut off the escape route for militants
wanting to head into neighboring Syria and would please the Iran-backed
army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It has accused the U.S.-led
anti-Islamic State coalition of planning to allow the jihadists such a
safe passage.
But it could also hamper the escape of civilians from the area of Mosul,
which is Iraq's second biggest city and where the militants are
reportedly trying to use residents as human shields.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that blocking the
road to Syria was the responsibility of the coalition that is providing
air and ground support to Iraqi and Kurdish troops engaged in the
battle.
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Tal Afar's pre-war population of about 150,0000 to 200,000 was a mix of
Sunni and Shi'ite ethnic Turkmens until Shi'ites fled the town after
Islamic State's ultra-hardline Sunni militants took over the region in
2014, declaring a 'caliphate' over swathes of Iraq and Syria.
"The Iranians and the (PMF) plan to take Tal Afar because of the Shi’ite
significance and use that as a way to angle in to Mosul," said a senior
Iraqi official who asked not to be named. "But they also want to use it
as a way to angle into the Syria fight."
SECTARIAN DIVISIONS
Iraqi government forces are mostly fighting on the southern front and
were trying on Wednesday to clear the region of Shora, 40 km (25 miles)
south of the city, a military statement said. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters
were deployed on the eastern and northern frontlines, 20 to 25 km from
the city.
"The PMF will be backing the security forces on the western front (..)
along two axes. The first is Tal Afar and the second is to support the
forces going into the center of Mosul," a statement on the PMF website
said.
The announcement came despite warnings from human rights groups that PMF
involvement could ignite sectarian violence.
Shi'ites make up a majority in Iraq but Sunnis are predominant in the
north and the west of the country.
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![](../images/101816pics/news_t29.jpg)
Peshmerga forces advance in the east of Mosul to attack Islamic
State militants in Mosul, Iraq, October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier
Al-Sudani
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The PMF officially reports to the Shi'ite-led government of Abadi,
who announced on Monday the start of the Mosul offensive. It was
formed in 2014 to help push back Islamic State's sweeping advance
through the northern and western provinces.
Abadi has sought to allay fears of sectarian bloodshed, saying that
the army and the police will be the only forces allowed to enter the
city.
Amnesty International on Tuesday published a report saying Shi'ite
militias had committed "serious human rights violations, including
war crimes" against civilians fleeing Islamic State-held territory.
The United Nations said in July it had a list of more than 640 Sunni
Muslim men and boys reportedly abducted by a Shi’ite militia in
Falluja, a former militant stronghold west of Baghdad, and about 50
others who were summarily executed or tortured to death.
The government and the PMF say a limited number of violations did
occur and were investigated, but they deny the abuses were
widespread and systematic.
Iraqi officials and residents of Mosul say Islamic State is
preventing people from leaving the city but civilians are fleeing
from outlying districts and villages.
The United Nations has warned that some 100,000 people may arrive in
Syria from the Mosul area. Save the Children said on Wednesday about
5,000 people, mostly women and children, had arrived at the Al Hol
camp in Syria in the last 10 days.
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"At least a thousand more are now massing at the border waiting to
cross," the organization said in a statement.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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