Christian Peshmerga ready for Mosul Plain liberation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Sunday, several Christians in the Nineveh Plain said that they will join the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

Following the IS insurgents’ invasion of Mosul and Nineveh Plain in 2014, the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani instructed that a new force for Christians is formed.

This new unit is meant to defend and liberate Christian populated areas alongside the Peshmerga forces.

Safa Iliyas, the Peshmerga commander of the Nineveh Plain Unit, told Kurdistan24, “The formation of our forces was due to IS attacks on our areas [Christian populated areas of northern Mosul].”

“The decision to form this force was made by President Barzani after other Kurdistan Region components, such as Ezidis, Shabaks, and Kakaiyes, had formed forces under the command of the Peshmerga,” Iliyas continued.

“The role of our forces is to protect and liberate the areas of Nineveh Plain and fight against IS,” he added.

Nineveh Plain Peshmerga Forces are now stationed in Telskuf front line, 20 kilometers (12 miles) in the vicinity of the IS stronghold, Mosul.

One of the fighters, who introduced himself to a Kurdistan24 reporter as a Christian Peshmerga, said, “We are here to fight [IS]…we will never allow [them] to approach Kurdistan.”

“In Telskuf, alongside the Peshmerga and Asayish forces, we are ready to liberate our areas and the entire Mosul Plain from the extremists,” he added.

 
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Additional reporting by Masoud Mohamad)