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| Struan Stevenson |
Press release by the President of the European Iraqi
Freedom Association (EIFA), Struan Stevenson, 12 February 2016
The European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) calls
upon the UN, US and EU to learn the lessons of Ramadi and not allow the wanton
slaughter of the Sunni population of Mosul in the looming battle to liberate
that city. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has conducted an international
tour to bolster support for the impending battle for Mosul, Iraq’s second
largest city, which was captured by ISIS (Daesh) in June 2014. Abadi visited
Washington DC, pleading with Obama for more US airstrikes and for US military
personnel to train Iraqi forces. He also wants military equipment and cash.
Abadi also visited Erbil in Northern Iraq, where he asked Kurdish President
Masoud Barzani to pledge assistance from the Peshmerga in the forthcoming
battle to liberate Mosul.
Mosul is in Nineveh Province, Northern Iraq; it is
home to over two and a half million people. Strict restrictions have been
placed on the local population with only trusted traders being allowed to leave
and return to the city. The remaining, largely Sunni population has been held
hostage. Daesh captured vast quantities of modern American weaponry when the
Iraqi army fled and the city has become an almost impregnable fortress. US
military commanders who are advising the Iraqis estimate that it may take
another year before Mosul can be recaptured.
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