ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-- In what appears to be a Sunni endorsement of referendum in the disputed Nineveh Plains, Iraq's Vice President Osamah Nujafi, a Sunni, announced Wednesday his support for the long anticipated public vote to settle the territorial disputes in the vast areas north of the country.
Speaking to Rudaw TV, the influential Sunni leader also said he would support the formation of a semi-independent region in Nineveh after the ISIS war.
"The solution is a referendum in which the people are given a chance to decide their future, but this should be done in a stable environment and away from military rule," Nujaifi said adding it would take place in accordance to previous agreements with Baghdad and Erbil governments.
Heading a large Sunni delegation, Nujafi is in Erbil for talks about post-ISIS Mosul and the return of refugees to their homes in Nineveh Plains after the war.
Nujaifi "expressed gratitude" towards Kurdistan Region for embracing a half a million displaced families from Mosul since 2014, according to a statement by Kurdish presidents office Monday.
The Iraqi VP also showed support for an autonomous region in Nineveh with Mosul as its capital, something the Sunnis have long been championing.
"The majority of people in Nineveh believe that the province should become a region encompassing several provinces, 6 to 7 provinces, according to the population makeup of these areas," Nujaifi said.
"Shingal could become a province, as well as Tal Afaar, the Nineveh plains, the Mosul city and South Nineveh and all of these within the Nineveh Region," he added.
Nujaifi said the referendum and formation of a region would be in line with the country's constitution.
"The people of the provinces then will have a say about their future and that should be respected, if not, then the constitution has not been respected," he added
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has openly supported the formation of a Sunni region but Erbil also demands the return of Kurdish territories in Nineveh in case of a "yes" vote at the referendum.
Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has said Peshmerga forces will not enter Mosul city as the operation advances, but he has publicly announced that the Peshmerga will refuse to retreat from Kurdish areas which they recapture from ISIS.
The Nineveh Plains, with Mosul as its provincial capital, is home to Iraq’s largest mixture of populations with different ethnic and religious backgrounds. In most of these villages Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians and many other groups have lived together for centuries. The area also has been one of the most volatile regions in Iraq where rivalling groups share territorial claims.
After the collapse of the Baathist rule in Iraq in 2003, these areas came under a new constitutional article which determined their status as disputed territories whose fate should depend on a referendum.
