Conditions worsen in Mosul following short period of relative calm

 

By Kareem Zair

 

Azzaman, June 26, 2008

 

Security conditions are worsening once again in the northern city of Mosul shortly after a large-scale military campaign ordered by Prime Minister Noori al-Maliki.

 

The military operations have failed to achieve their end as the groups responsible for violence have reestablished themselves in the city.

 

Mosul is the capital of the Province of Nineveh which was thought to be the last remaining bastion of al-Qaeda in Iraq and resistance groups fighting U.S. occupation.

 

Provincial officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iraqi troops could not sustain the initial successes they had achieved during last month’s campaign.

 

They said there were not enough troops in the city of more than 2.5 million people.

 

Sources in the city’s council, also refusing to be named, blamed the presence of political factions with powerful militias operating inside the city for the resurge in violence.

 

“Residents are hopeless once again after shortly enjoying the faint light at end of the tunnel,” once source said.

 

A roadside bomb in the city killed three U.S. Marines this week. Car bombs have returned and gunmen are once again in control of several streets and districts.

 

There 80 police stations in the city and several army units but their poor performance have made them easy prey to gunmen.

 

Besides Iraqi security forces and troops, there are 48 heavily fortified offices of various political factions.

 

Some of these offices are like military garrisons with sand bags, blast walls and contingents of heavily armed militias protecting them.

 

The officials said they were mainly concerned with the heavy presence of Kurdish militias in what is a predominantly Arab city.

 

The Kurds have apparently agreed to abandon some of their militia or pershmerga camps in the outskirts of the city. But their militiamen still stand guard at the offices of the main Kurdish political factions in the city.

 

Iraqi troops and police are no match to those militias. The troops have even failed to implement a government order to force political factions to evacuate the public and private buildings they have usurped as administrative offices and accommodation for their militias.