ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 3,000 families have fled the Turkmen city of Tal Afar west of Mosul as the Shiite paramilitary group known as Hashd al-Shaabi are moving in and encircling the city.
Provincial officials told Reuters they are concerned by the fact that many of these families are fleeing deeper into territory held by ISIS, making it harder to provide them with aid.
Nuraldin Qablan, a representative for the city on the Nineveh provincial council and deputy head of that council, estimates that half of those families have fled towards Syria and the other half toward territory controlled by the Kurdish Peshmerga.
“We ask Kurdish authorities to open a safe passage for them,” he told Reuters on Wednesday.
“People are fleeing due to Hashd’s advance, there are great fears among the civilians,” he added.
According to Qablan, ISIS allowed this mass flight, which began on Sunday night, as it fired mortars at Hashd positions in the airport south of the city – which they recently captured.
Sunni Turkmen in the city fear that the Shiite-majority paramilitaries will commit sectarian atrocities against them. Turkey has also threatened to intervene militarily against the Hashd al-Shaabi if they abuse Tal Afar’s Sunni Turkmen civilians.
The Iraqi government has said that only Iraqi Army forces will enter the city itself with the Hashd al-Shaabi playing a supporting role securing the perimeter.
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