A Voice From Inside Mosul

Interview by the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), with an
Iraqi human rights defender (“QC”) from Mosul – the 18th of June 2014

*What is the situation now in the city of Mosul?*

QC: In terms of the security situation, there is no fighting or bombing.
The roads are open, but there is a shortage of basic goods and services.
For example there is no electricity or Internet, and water, as well as gas
cylinders and fuel are in short supply. Food prices are high, too. While
the hospitals are still functioning, other government institutions have
shut down.

*Is it possible for non-governmental organizations [NGOs] and human rights
defenders [HRDs] to work in Mosul?*

QC: No, it is not possible for NGOs and HRDs to work freely. Insurgents,
especially extremists, do not accept civil society, and if I said I wanted
to work in Mosul they would punish me. They call it “Had”; it is punishment
according to Sharia law. Organizations must operate secretly in order to
send reports about the situation. I also prefer to keep my name unknown for
this interview. Civil society in our cities must work in alignment with the
government, otherwise you will be accused of supporting the militants. But
at the same time, the insurgents also reject any independent role for civil
society.

*What about the displaced — are there people displaced from Mosul? How
large are the numbers?*

QC: There are many families — as many as one hundred thousand — who fled to
the Kurdistan Region of Iraq [KRG].  We are talking about perhaps five
hundred thousand people, the majority of whom are children and the elderly.
The KRG authorities did not allow most of them to enter  because they
require that those who enter have a guarantor from the Kurdish region. Many
of these now internally displaced persons [IDPs] are being kept in very
basic camps. The crisis of the IDPs is immense and urgently requires the
assistance of humanitarian organizations. The crisis is growing worse,
especially after the battles in the city of Tal Afar, which created
thousands of newly displaced civilians.

*Who controls Mosul? Are there now sanctions or reprisals against
civilians?*

QC: The situation in Mosul has been very bad since militants seized control
of the entire city. The city’s immediate future is not clear. People do not
know whether there will be a military strike, or if we will remain under
the rule of the gunmen who seized power (who are not themselves ruled by
law), or if they will form a government in these areas. Until now there
have been no acts of revenge or collective punishment of civilians. We
heard that a new governor has been appointed, a former army officer named
Hashim Aljmas.

*Who are the gunmen who entered Mosul?*

QC: There was a mixture of armed groups who entered Mosul:  some Islamic
extremists (from ISIS) and other rebels (or nationalists) some of whom are
former members of the army and some Ba’athists. In Mosul there are now
different groups that are in control of each neighborhood. Generally, these
groups do not discuss their future plans for the city, and they do not
allow the media to operate in the city.

*What do the people of Mosul feel about what has happened? Why do they
think that the city fell?*

QC: The main reason for the fall of the city of Mosul - the second largest
city in Iraq – is that the Maliki government did not respond to the demands
of the citizen protestors who demonstrated in Mosul, Anbar, Salahuddin,
Diyala and Hawija over a year ago and so the citizens did not support the
Iraqi army.

The policy of the Iraqi government headed by Nouri al-Maliki has been
totally sectarian in the way it has operated in the Iraqi provinces. The
government has almost totally excluded representatives of the Sunni
population from the sovereign ministries, or left them with no real
authority. Even the new Iraqi army was formed on this basis.

H*ow is the Iraqi army viewed by the sons of the city of Mosul?*

QC: The Iraqi army unfortunately does not support a doctrine of loyalty to
the homeland (or an Iraq that is inclusive of all people); instead it is
loyal to the Madhhab or Shia doctrine. It deals with citizens according to
their religious sect. The armed forces have attacked people in the cities
of Mosul, Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Hawija. They have carried out
arrests, torture and extortion. There have also been many cases of rape by
members of the army, both outside and inside prisons.

*But Mosul contributed to the recent elections, wasn’t that a sign of hope
for change through peaceful means?*

QC: The last election was frustrating. Most of the political blocs accused
the Prime Minister of rigging the election for the purpose of securing a
large number of seats (93) in the Iraqi parliament. This has raised a fear
among many politicians and citizens that Nouri al-Maliki would return for a
third term as prime minister of Iraq, which would essentially amount to the
creation of a new dictatorship. Everyone is aware how he has attempted
during his two terms in power to increase his control over all aspects of
political life, especially the “independent” commissions including the
Electoral Commission and the Human Rights Commission. He accused his
opponents in Parliament of crimes and had many arrested and imprisoned. Now
the state security institutions are largely dominated by one sect (Shia)
and are constantly fed sectarian ideology.

I think the insurgents planned this current invasion of the provinces to
coincide with the announcement of final election results, which was an
excellent time for them to suggest to ​​the citizens that their revolution
would rid the Sunnis of the sectarian Maliki government, which is now
trying to control the state for a third term. Maybe this is why rebels
received a warm welcome from some citizens in the provinces where the
insurgents took over. When the gunmen entered the city of Mosul, the
military was very weak due to fear of reprisals from the community (since
most of the community hates the army). This explains why military
commanders fled, and why the army was unable to defeat what was only a
small number of insurgents.

*Do you want the army to “**free” the city of Mosul?*

QC: I think the solution must be a political one first. The Iraqi army, if
it acts professionally and patriotically, and works in collaboration with
the people of the city, is capable of freeing Mosul from the insurgents.
But there must be a military plan that takes into account the population of
the city and ensures the safety of Mosul’s civilians. There are a million
civilians who may now be at risk. Aerial bombardment would be especially
catastrophic for them.

*What will help the civilians in Mosul? What is the role for the U.S. in **the
future of Mosul?*

QC: I think we need to guarantee and strengthen the capacity and the
activity of civil society, so that it becomes a link between the government
and society, so that citizens are empowered to play a greater role in
identifying and implementing solutions to problems in the future.

I think that recent events are the beginning of the division of Iraq into
three regions (Sunni, Kurdish and Shiite). This is increasingly considered
by many politicians to be the solution to political and armed conflict
among the different groups in Iraq. The Kurdish authorities and the leaders
of the insurgents seem to have agreed that this is what will happen. Iraqis
were once unified, but the experience of the past eight years and the
likely continuation of the current political situation makes it almost
impossible for our cities to go on like this.

I think that America understands what is happening and that it will push
for the division of Iraq. The US will not necessarily send its military to
Mosul or Iraq, but it will clearly play a role in what will be agreed upon.
People here want civilians to rule the city so we can solve our problems
ourselves. We want the extremists to leave and we want the end of military
activities and the presence of weapons. But at the same time we don’t want
to return to sectarian rule in any way.

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