ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Residents in Erbil are expressing anxiety over potential Iranian attacks and a resurgence of militant groups as U.S.-led coalition forces finalize their withdrawal from Iraq.
The departure leaves the Kurdistan Region without U.S.-operated air defense systems, raising regional security concerns following months of cross-border missile and drone strikes.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani criticized the relocation of defensive assets in a recent interview, warning that the move leaves the region vulnerable to external threats.
“Like Kak [Mr.] Masrour Barzani said in his interview with that newspaper [Financial Times], how could the Kurdistan Region protect itself following the US withdrawal? There has to be a plan, something to protect this Region,” Rasheed Mala Azeez, government employee, told Rudaw's Vazhin Murad on Monday.
Local fears stem in part from the removal of C-RAM defense systems, which previously intercepted hundreds of incoming projectiles targeting the region during recent hostilities between Iran and the U.S.
“We Kurds have reaped nothing but misfortune from all the regimes. That is why I have a negative feeling. I hope Kurds are not abandoned to be alone,” Fazilah Shorish, a retiree, told Rudaw.
Residents drew parallels to past security shifts, recalling the 1991 U.S.-enforced no-fly zone along the 36th parallel that protected the region from the former Baathist regime.
“We have been protected since the coalition enforced the 36th line of latitude in 1991. As the US and the Coalition leave today, there is a risk that we might end up like Afghanistan. Our surroundings aren't friends to us,” retiree Waleed Salih said.
The fear isn’t restricted to Iranian attacks. When US forces left Iraq in 2011, militant groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) grew in power. The growth culminated in the group occupying Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, and much of Northern and Western Iraq in 2014. Residents fear the same may happen now that the US-led Coalition is slated to finalize its withdrawal from Iraq on September 30.
“They abandon Kurds in their time of need. This is not the first time the US has abandoned us like this at a time when Daesh is about to make a comeback. Whenever there is a security vacuum somewhere, they [ISIS] conduct their attack and create people for the Kurdish people. Now was not the right time for America to withdraw,”Aminah Rasheed, a pensioner, told Rudaw.
For others, US leaving might mean an end to Iranian attacks. “Iran has been very good to us. It has become hostile to us thanks to America. It would be better if they weren't here. Let them leave,” Koshawi Omer Kareem, a retiree, told Rudaw.
“It makes no difference for the Kurdish people. If they had never been here, things might have been better for us. That is because in the Iran-America war, Kurdistan's losses were bigger compared to the Americans. We have had more people martyred and injured. We gained nothing from it,” pensioner Hussein Mohamedameen said.
Iraq is set to hold celebrations starting on September 30. The country has already declared a 4-day holiday on this occasion. Iraqi armed forces have reiterated their readiness to take on the security responsibility when the coalition withdraws.
