Peshmerga prepares for Hawija offensive, warns about post-IS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Peshmerga forces prepare to liberate the Islamic State (IS)-controlled city of Hawija and its surrounding areas in Kirkuk province.

Wasta Rasool, a Peshmerga commander said on Monday that “Hawija and Mosul are parts of the Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution [named by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)] therefore Peshmerga forces will liberate these areas and any force that wants to participate in these operations should seek permission from Peshmerga.”

In an interview with Kurdistan24, Tariq Ahmed, a Colonel in the Peshmerga forces talked about the forthcoming operation to liberate Mosul and Hawija, stating that "after Raqqa in Syria, Hawija is the most important place that needs to be cleared from IS."

Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi army, and Sunni tribal fighters are expected to participate in a joint operation to retake Hawija.

Civilians from the city of Hawija, 30 miles south of Kirkuk, flee areas occupied by the IS towards the Peshmerga-controlled areas on a daily basis.

"The post-IS war will be between the Iraqis themselves, but the Kurdistan Region leadership will not allow Kurds to get involved, although Kurds have always been victims of Baghdad’s wrong policies that have affected everyone because they do not recognize the presence of Kurds,” Colonel Ahmed told Kurdistan24.

Elsewhere, Mahmoud Sangawi, the Peshmerga commander of Garmaser frontlines in Kurdish areas in Diyala province, warned that “Shia militias are preparing to attack the Kurdistan Region after the war on IS is over,” stating that he was informed by the leader of a faction in Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militia, Khurasani militia group, that the next war will be against Kurds.

Yousif al-Kilaby, the spokesperson of the Hashd al-Shaabi militias stated on Tuesday that preparations for the military offensive against IS has started and we know the zero hour of the operation.

Editing by Ava Homa