Iraq pushed to rule out Turkish role in Mosul: Official

By Arif Yusuf

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) – Hassan Allaf, deputy governor of Iraq’s Nineveh province, said Baghdad was being "pressured" to stop Turkey from playing a role in the ongoing campaign to retake Mosul -- Nineveh’s regional capital -- from the Daesh terrorist group.

"Neighboring Turkey was -- and still is -- a defender of the people of Nineveh and has helped them prepare for the campaign and deal with the resultant displacement crisis," Allaf, who temporarily resides in Iraq’s northern city of Erbil, told Anadolu Agency.

He added: "And we are grateful for these efforts."

Turkey has recently trained some 3,000 local Sunni volunteers in Nineveh’s Camp Bashiqa.

Allaf went on to express his desire to see Turkish forces participate in the ongoing "liberation" of Nineveh.

"We view Turkey as a safety valve in the event of sectarian conflict or civil war," he said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi recently called on Turkish troops stationed at Camp Bashiqa to leave Iraq.

"I wish there was better coordination on the intervention process [in Mosul]," Allaf asserted.

"If Turkey had participated in the campaign from the beginning," he said, "we would be in a better situation and would not need foreign forces to liberate Mosul."

He also expressed his wish that the Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia would refrain from taking part in the Mosul campaign due to what he described as "sectarian" considerations.

The deputy governor went on to note that recent statements by Hashd al-Shaabi leaders had sparked fears of imminent demographic changes in Nineveh, which is traditionally known for its religious and ethnic diversity.