MP accuses Kurdish militias of “terrorism”

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP from the Iraqi National List (INL) Osama al-Nujaifi on Monday called on the government to provide neutral forces to protect Mosul and its districts during the elections because of what he described as the “terrorism of Kurdish militias.” “The security situation in Mosul has greatly improved and it is ready for the elections, except for the regions of Sinjar, Zamar, Shiekhan, and al-Hamadaniya which are under the control of Kurdish militias who terrorise voters and force them to vote for their candidates,” Osama al-Nujaifi told IraqiNews.com news agency. For his part, deputy governor of the Ninewa province and the responsible for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Khisro Kouran told IraqiNews.com news agency “this is not true.” He underlined that the situation in the city’s districts “is safe and even better than Mosul.” He described al-Nujaifi’s statements as “the old paper which is used by the some to accuse Kurds of displacing Christians from Mosul.” Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, Yunus in Arabic, and Nahum.   SH (S)/SR 1