Provincial solution could save volatile Nineveh Plains, residents say

DOHUK, Kurdistan Region— Local Christian writer Baba Laraya believes dividing the war-ravaged Nineveh Plains into five separate provinces could prevent further destruction of an ancient land mired in ethnic and religious conflicts.

“It has been going on for ages,” says Laraya of the tensions among the diverse communities in the Sunni dominated Plains. “It could be an ideal solution to set up independent provinces in this region and prevent future conflicts,” he says.

Laraya's opinion is widely shared by many of residents in the region who have seen an escalation of sectarian tensions in recent years after ISIS take over of Mosul city which serves as the capital for the entire Nineveh Plains.

Located south of Kurdistan Region between the Syrian border in the west and Kurdish territories in the east, Nineveh Plains has been home to both Christians and Muslims, Yezidis and Turkmen, Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds.

Local representatives have in the past suggested to set up at least five different provinces for the Yezidis in Shingal, the Turkmen in Tel Afar, the Sunnis in Mosul, the Christians in the central parts of the Plains and others in south of the plains.

“Every community could thrive better on its own side by side with neighbouring communities,” says a local shopkeeper. “It is a dream come true, but I hope it’s not just on paper,” he says.

Christian localities in the area have often been vulnerable amid the ongoing sectarian tensions that forced many of the families to leave their homes for the safety of the Kurdish controlled territories or simply migrating to Europe.

The situation has been even more tragic for Kurdish Yezidi and Shabak minorities who have often narrowly escaped systematic ethnic cleansing by dominating groups in the area.

Iraq’s parliament passed a bill last week which effectively empowers the authorities of the countries 19 provinces and gives them lawful means to create semi-independent regions with other provinces.

According to the Iraqi constitution, any three provinces in the country could form a region similar to the Kurdish regional administration in the north which consists of the provinces of Sulaimani, Erbil, Dohuk