Who is to take Mosul after ISIS defeat

Around Mosul the ISIS is being attacked by hardly friendly forces. The Kurds, Turks, Iraqi army (only 30%), the Shia units from the Southern regions of Iraq, who are obsessed with vengeance for massacre of 2014. How will they agree with each other after the victory? And will it take place?

Photo: AP Photo

Semyon Bagdasarov, expert on the Central Asian and Middle Eastern problems at the Centre of Analytical Studies, commented Pravda.Ru on the issue.

I believe they'll win after all. But the fact that they won't come to an agreement is evident. Everyone claims that he will take it. Baghdad says that Mosul is its centre, the Kurds say that it's theirs. Peshmerga (the Kurdish rebels) is the main force, 5,000 Kurds attack Mosul. And what they occupy will be their territory. The Kurdistan Workers' Party is also involved and it isn't going to share anything. These are all hostile sides. As well as the Turkish army, Sunni rebels and many other - that is complete chaos. Thus, clashes are inevitable.

If it's not the US which keeps fighters there, who is it? The Saudis? Or these are self-sustained people?

These are definitely the Turks and Americans who keep them there. They yield to Turkey in Syria without a fight.

Shall we be patient and just observe? If these fighters start fleeing, will they flee to Syria? What can we undertake?

Nothing. Shingal is on their way, where there are left organizations - the self-defence forces of Shingal (the Yezidi rebels). They may play opposition game. There are forces which are oriented to Baghdad, and those to Erbil (the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan), they may let them go. They may do whatever. The Turkish army seems to carry out air strikes in Raqqa, as it has already taken Jarabulus and Dabik and is going towards Raqqa. For the moment it's not our battle ground. We shall cope with the Eastern Aleppo.

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