Beginning of end for caliphate, UN says
Envoy said operation to liberate Iraqi city of Mosul is making steady progress
The operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul marks the beginning of the end of Daesh’s so-called caliphate in Iraq, the UN envoy for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Jan Kubis said efforts by the Iraqi Security Forces, the Peshmerga and other allies are making steady progress in liberating the city, while seeking to minimize civilian casualties.
“This liberation operation marks the beginning of the end of the socalled ‘Daesh caliphate’ in Iraq,” Kubis said.
Kubis also said he has received credible reports of Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISISL, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to relocate inside Mosul, for use as human shields.
He warned that reconciliation and restoration of confidence in the government was necessary if the victories against Daesh are to be lasting.
“Reconciliation at both community and national level is the way to make military victories against ISIL sustainable, to make Iraq truly peaceful and united,” he said.
Kubis said the operation to liberate Mosul has so far displaced some 35,000 people, with about 20,000 of them being sheltered in camps.
He said the humanitarian agencies were continuing to prepare for an ever greater number of displaced people as winter approaches.
Kubis also noted that the UN Assis- tance Mission in Iraq had referred scattered reports of acts of revenge against captured Daesh fighters to the Iraqi government for investigation.
“The government must continue its efforts to prevent such incidents from occurring and to investigate and punish any such incidents should they occur,” he said.