ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed cooperation between the Iraqi military and the Kurdish Peshmerga in the Mosul operation against ISIS on Thursday. “For the first time the Iraqi Peshmerga forces are fighting side-by-side with the Iraqi federal forces,” Abadi said in a video conference call to a meeting of foreign ministers from the Middle East and Europe in Paris, who were discussing how to stabilize Mosul after it is liberated from ISIS. “They are fighting harmoniously together to protect the territory and protect the civilians. For the first time in 25 years, Iraqi federal forces are entering the territory of Kurdistan with the agreement of the Kurdistan authorities and the Kurdistan government,” Abadi added. “This shows there is unity and tremendous rapprochement between the two sides to liberate the Iraqi territory from the terrorism of ISIL, working for one single Iraq far from the idea of partition and the disagreement, which have scattered efforts until now,” he said. Kurdish Peshmerga forces are advancing against ISIS north and northeast of Mosul, paving a path for the Iraqi military which will then proceed to go into the city itself. Abadi said these advances are progressing “more quickly than we thought and more quickly certainly than we had established in our campaign plan.” “Today we’re moving toward Mosul to free it. The citizens in Mosul are waiting for our forces to arrive. In the Nineveh Province there is an elected local government and we’re currently working with this government in order to manage the situation, supply necessary services, look after displaced people and meet humanitarian requirements of citizens,” Abadi added. Despite the lack of financial resources – due to the oil and displacement crisis gripping Iraq – Abadi says Iraq has a plan to manage the people who will be displaced by this battle. “We recommended military forces on all fronts to open corridors to allow people to flee fighting and combat zones,” he said. “All these efforts are being taken despite ongoing military operations.”
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