Iraqi students return for exams amid devastation

MOSUL: Amid buildings destroyed by heavy fighting, University of Mosul students are returning to take exams interrupted three years ago when the IS took control of their city.

The university and an army of volunteers are working to clear up rubble and repair the damage left by fierce battles between Iraqi forces and IS militants.

“The fact that I am here with my friends today shows our determination and our will to resist,” says Ahmad Chehab Ahmad, 23.

Around 40,000 students were studying at the university, one of the biggest in Iraq, when IS seized the city in a sweeping summer 2014 offensive across Iraq and Syria.

Elite Counter-Terrorism Service forces seized the campus back in January as part of a months-long operation to oust the IS.

“Less than a month after we were liberated I was back in class,” says Sanaa Nafih, minutes before going in for her English exam.

“I feel good, despite all the destruction I see,” says the 21-yearold, who hopes to finish her studies and become a teacher.

With Iraqi forces still fighting IS across town in Mosul’s old city, security at the university is tight.

Heavily armed guards check ID cards and search students at the campus entrance.

The signs of fighting are clear — some buildings have been completely demolished, while others are pock-marked by shelling and small arms fire.

While the science department remains closed, humanities students have returned after years without setting foot in a lecture hall.

“We girls stayed at home” under IS rule, says Nafih.

“In the beginning we had electricity and we could receive news — I could use the internet to download books.”