Lawmaker urges Kurdistan RegionG to avoid escalating tension in Mosul

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The leader of al-Hadbaa List, Osama al-Nejefi, on Thursday called on the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) not to escalate tension in the province of Mosul, deploring statements by Kurdistan RegionG Prime Minister Nejervan Barazani in which he accused his bloc of “autocracy” and “creating sedition” within the local council. “I think the picture is not clear for Mr. Nejervan Barazani, the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s government. The situation in Mosul is quiet and all the components in the city have understanding,” Nejefi told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Diversity within the council is thorough and have all groups – Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds – represented, in addition to connections with the tribes, notables and security agencies all over the province,” he said. On Wednesday (April 22), Barazani had accused al-Hadbaa List of autocracy in Ninewa, adding other groups are not represented in the provincial council. Nejefi, who belongs to the Iraqi National List (INL) parliamentary bloc, called for communication between the local administration in Mosul and the legislators who represent al-Hadbaa. “The Kurdistan RegionG should not interfere in the province’s internal affairs except through the constitutional and legitimate means,” Nejefi said. He termed as “anarchist” the calls by the mayors of Sinjar, al-Shaykhan and Makhmour to have these three districts breaking away from Mosul. “An ad hoc legal committee was formed within the Ninewa provincial council and the chiefs of these three districts will be held accountable (for these statements) soon,” Nejefi asserted. AmR (S) 1