'Turkmens marginalized in Mosul liberation'

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkmen have asked for the inclusion of 1,500-2,000 troops to fight alongside other Iraqi and Kurdish security forces in liberating Mosul in northern Iraq, said a Turkmen official on Monday.

In an interview with Kurdistan24, Turkmen member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament (KRP), Aydin Maruf, pointed out that the Iraqi Federal Government has marginalized Turkmen in liberating Turkmen-populated areas in Nineveh Province, especially the city of Mosul.

“Different ethnic and religious groups live in Mosul. Turkmen have been marginalized in contributing to the military operations in the areas currently controlled by Da’esh,” Maruf stated, using the Arabic pejorative term for the Islamic State (IS).

“It is Turkmen’s right to be part of the expected Mosul operation. Turkmens have been ignored in liberating Daquq, Bashir, and other Turkmen-populated areas located in the south and west of Kirkuk Province,” he said.

Additionally, Maruf mentioned that they have previously asked both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi Federal Government to create 1,500-2,000 Turkmen troops to participate in freeing IS-held territories.

“KRG’s response was positive unlike Baghdad’s. We met with the US envoys in Erbil and delivered our complaint to them about the marginalization of Turkmens in military operations. The US supported our idea and agreed that Turkmen as an ethnic group should participate in the Mosul operation,” he added.

Maruf also revealed that Turkmen are afraid that their populated areas in Mosul and Talafar will be controlled by others after Mosul is liberated.

“Turkmens want to play an active role in the military operations against Da’esh,” he concluded.

Turkmens in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region consist of nearly three million people, predominantly present in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Erbil, Kirkuk, Salahaddin and Diyala, Baghdad and Wasit. They represent the third largest ethnic group in Iraq (13 percent of the population).

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa
(Kovan Izzat conducted the interview in Kurdish)