ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-- Sunni strongman and former governor of Nineveh province Atheel Nujaifi shows rare support for the integration of Kurdish territories in the province with the Kurdistan Region.
"More than 70-80 percent of the Sunnis in Nineveh favor a Nineveh Region, but it is natural if an area or a province in the [possible] Nineveh Region would like to integrate with Kurdistan," Nujafi told Rudaw.
"There are other ethnic groups in Nineveh. At the same time Kurds have influence and impact in some areas. This is why Arabs, Kurds and other groups in Nineveh Plains should sit down and discuss the post-ISIS Nineveh before this question is discussed with Baghdad or any other side," Nujaifi added.
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.
But since no referendums have so far been held, the military presence of different groups in these territories could be decisive in determining their future status.
The Sunni Arabs who constitute the majority in Nineveh Plains have long been at odds with the central government in Baghdad which is mainly under Shiite influence. Officials in Nineveh have in the past accused Baghdad of discrimination against Sunnis in the country and showed strong support for a semi-independent region for the Sunnis in Nineveh Plains.
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.
"We think there should be a Nineveh Region in any case. The issue of Mosul should not be overlooked easily. When I say a Region for Nineveh, I do not mean it should be an entirely Arab Region," Nujaifi said.
The former governor who is now in Kurdistan Region and is virtually the commander of a large Sunni militia near Mosul said much depends on which forces enter the city after its liberation.
"If only the Iraqi army moves into Mosul together with the police units and if these forces are controlled by the [Iraqi] prime minister [Haidar al-Abadi], then Mosul will see stability and it is possible to find solution to the issue," he said.
But Nuijafi also warned that, "if unorganised forces enter Mosul, such as the Shiite militia and the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], there will inevitably be chaos and things will get out of control."
PKK forces are currently located across the Syrian border west of Nineveh Plains near the Yezidi town of Shingal. The PKK has said it will leave the area after stability returns to Shingal and areas close the borders with Syria's Kurdish enclave, also called Rojava.
Nujaifi said the Turkish forces will not enter Mosul "if things don't fall apart" in the city.
"Turkey will not enter Mosul and it has no prepared force to enter the city. What they have is a limited force in Peshmerga-held areas that provide Peshmerga with their artillery support," he said.
Nujaifi warned that Iraqi capital is divided between anti-ISIS international coalition and the Shiite militias.
"The government in Baghdad wants to work in line with agreements with the international coalition. But there is also another Baghdad which is under Shiite militia pressure and pushes the government to take a different approach. The Baghdad that is under Shiite pressure is stronger that the other Baghdad," he said.
