Iraq needs national unity in post-Daesh era

The Mosul operation has been considerable due to using very complicated technical and tactical methods. The city’s geographical and topographical status made the operation difficult. Such conditions made Daesh’s fortifications more inaccessible to Iraqi forces.

Also, the terror group used civilians as human shields which added to the difficulty of the anti-Daesh offensive.

Furthermore, Washington exerted pressure on the Iraqi government to hand over the leadership of the operation to coalition forces which further made the battle against Daesh harder and more complicated.

The support provided to Daesh by certain states added insult to injury.

Despite such difficulties, the Iraqi Army, backed by all walks of life, continued its battle against Daesh and made great achievements.

This dealt a serious blow to the terror group and its sponsors. The liberation of Mosul will facilitate the recapturing of other areas in the Arab nation.

Meanwhile, the most important and long-term result of Mosul’s liberation is that regional nations are capable of dislodging terrorists without the intervention of foreign states.

The Iraqi troops retook Mosul through the support of Popular Mobilization Forces, which means that Baghdad is able to remove security threats without relying on foreign troops.

Presently, Mosul’s recapture has helped Iran, Iraq and Syria to boost their anti-Daesh battle.

Nonetheless, the liberation of the strategic city of Mosul has not ended the Daesh era. The Iraqi Army and the Popular Mobilization Forces will have to make tenacious efforts to purge the nation from terrorists. This is because the terror group will probably increase its suicide attacks after losing control of Mosul.

Irrespective of security obstacles, the Iraqi government is trying to return refugees to their homes which had been occupied by terrorists.

Since Daesh was created as a result of colonial policies pursued by the US and Israel, the terror group will continue to exist as long as it receives the support of Washington and Tel Aviv.

Iraq needs to follow up measures to preserve its national unity in the post Daesh-era. Any failure to maintain such unity might put the country in danger of being torn apart.

*Hassan Kazemi Qomi is former Iranian ambassador to Iraq.

Source: Iran Daily (Tehran-based English newspaper)

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