Endgame is set for IS in Mosul

Ministers already mull aftermath

ASSOCIATED PRESS AND REUTERS

FOREIGN ministers from several Western and Middle Eastern countries will meet tomorrow to discuss how to restore peace and stability to Mosul after Islamic State (IS) has been routed from its Iraqi stronghold.

As the battle for Mosul entered its second day yesterday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who will host the meeting in Paris, said: “We cannot wait. What happens after Mosul is liberated from Islamic State? We need an administration that establishes long-term stability.”

Iraqi and Kurdish forces said yesterday they had secured about 20 villages on the outskirts of Mosul, the biggest city under the control of IS which grabbed vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Iraqi and Kurdish commanders said they paused their advance on Mosul, a day after the start of a massive operation.

The large and complex battle for Mosul is expected to last weeks or months. It will involve more than 25 000 troops, including the Iraqi army, the Kurdish peshmerga, Sunni tribal fighters and Shia militias.

IS said it carried out 12 suicide attacks on Monday against the forces advancing on Mosul, including eight that targeted the peshmerga. The report carried by the IS-run Aamaq news agency said Iraqi forces had captured just three villages and that IS fighters had halted an advance from the south.

In Baghdad, thousands of followers of an Iraqi Shia cleric marched in front of the Turkish Embassy yesterday demanding the withdrawal of Turkish troops from a base near Mosul.

“Get out, Get out, occupier!” and “Yes, yes, for Iraq,” chanted the followers of Moqtada al-Sadr.

Turkey says the troops are training Iraqi fighters to help retake Mosul, and that they are there with the permission of the Iraqi government. Baghdad denies it granted permission and has ordered the Turks to withdraw – a call Ankara has ignored.

The spat has raised concerns that the defeat of IS could lead to renewed conflict among the various fighting units currently allied against it.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday that the fighters who were trained at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul were at the forefront of the Mosul operation, fighting alongside Kurdish forces.

Also, the Turkish air force was involved in airstrikes alongside the US-backed coalition in the Mosul operation. “Those who say Turkey has no business in Mosul have gotten their answer,” he said.

The ministers will discuss protecting civilians and providing aid and will also address how to tackle Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold, Raqqa, where dozens of French jihadists are based, Ayrault said.

“For Raqqa, a similar method will be needed to Mosul.

“It will take time and political will,” he said. “We can’t let Islamic State reconstitute itself or strengthen to create an even more dangerous hub. Ignoring Raqqa would be a serious mistake.”

The US, UK, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are among the countries due to attend the meeting to be co-hosted by Iraq.

But Iran and Russia, have not been invited.

Ayrault said Russia had indicated Iraq was not its concern, whereas Iran, which has significant influence in Iraq, had not been invited to the Paris meeting due to tensions between Riyadh and Baghdad that needed to be eased first.

“For now we need to get consensus between everyone else, which isn’t simple.

“I’ve seen some quite virulent exchanges in meetings between Saudi Arabia and Iraq so we need to favour this dialogue first. We’re not ignoring Iran, but it has to be step by step.”

Tomorrow’s meeting will not focus on military aspects, that are due to be discussed at a similar meeting next week, also in Paris.