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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Erbil on an unannounced visit late Saturday and was received by top Kurdish leaders.
Abadi, who arrived by helicopter together with several senior Iraqi military officials, was received at the airport by Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Region’s National Security Council.
Rudaw’s reporter Hevidar Ahmed reported from the scene that Abadi and his team were scheduled to meet over dinner at the airport with the Kurdish officials.
The Iraqi prime minister arrived in Erbil after visiting frontlines in the Mosul offensive, where he issued a statement saying that military operations were were advancing as planned and that the number of displaced persons from the city so far was less than expected.
“Our forces are advancing in all fronts and there is no retreat,” he said in a televised statement. “There is no delay in military operations, which are going as planned.”
The Iraqi Army and its allied paramilitary forces, together with the Kurdish Peshmerga and backed by coalition forces, began an offensive against ISIS in Mosul on Oct. 16.
The UN and other agencies had warned that the offensive would result in a wave of internally displaced persons (IDPs) that could number as many as a million.
“The number of IDPs until now is less than was expected,” Abadi said, without giving any number.
He warned militants to surrender or die.
“The terrorists should drop their arms if they want to stay alive, because there is no place for them in this country,” Abadi said in his statement.
He also warned against any efforts to sow sectarian discord, and defended the paramilitary Shiite Hasd al-Shaabi forces that have been fighting alongside the army.
“Today the Iraqis are achieving this victory with their unity,” Abadi said, warning that any “insult to the Hashd al-Shaabi is unacceptable.”
Western countries in the US-led anti-ISIS coalition that is involved in the offensive had voiced reservations about the participation of the Shiite forces in the Mosul operations.
“There is collaboration and respect among all of the joint forces and for the first time the Peshmerga fight along with the federal forces,” Abadi said.
“The security officials are informing me about the large-scale collaboration of the people of Mosul with the security forces,” he added.
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