ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-Some Sunni Arab officials in Kirkuk urge the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Shiite militia known as Hashd al-Shaabi to liberate the remaining areas in Hawija to relieve thousands of families from “starvation” and Islamic State (ISIS) brutality.
“People are dying of starvation,” Ismail Hadidi, head of the Arab Council in Kirkuk told Rudaw. “There is lack of food, water and medicine.”
Hadidi added that people trapped under ISIS now want all forces regardless of their ethnic background including the Iraqi army to launch a long-anticipated offensive to liberate their towns and villages.
Hawija is considered one of ISIS’s strongholds where many former Baath officers are believed to have joined the group.
“We are fully ready to take part in the Hawija offensive,” said Rebwar Ali, a Peshmerga commander in Kirkuk. “The Peshmerga are capable of fighting and liberating any area but we are waiting for the green light.”
Sunni officials have long opposed any mention of Shiite militia participation in the Hawija offensive, demanding instead an increase in the number of their Sunni Hashd al-Watani militia.
The dire situation of civilians however, seems to have changed the view.
“We are fully committed to Hawija liberation and we are 100% ready, but we do not know why the Sunni tribesmen fear us,” said Zaki Kamal, a commander of Hashd al-Shabbi. “We have no families in those areas yet we are ready to fight, because we want to save Iraq.”
Some 18,000 people are reported to have fled Hawija in the course of a month and sought shelter in Kirkuk camps. Some to escape the looming battle, others due to food, water and resources running out.
The Kurdish Peshmerga have recaptured a number of towns and villages near Hawija in the last two years and military officials have spoken of the importance of expelling ISIS from Hawija to end the threat they pose to Kirkuk and its oil fields.
