Why the battle for Mosul matters in the fight against ISIS
(CNN)Of all the battles in the fight against ISIS, the operation to retake Mosul could prove the most significant.
Iraqi-led forces have started what will likely be a messy and prolonged offensive to seize Iraq's second-largest city.
Having
already lost key cities -- such as Tikrit and Ramadi -- Mosul is the
militant group's last bastion of power in the country. Simply put:
Freeing Mosul would be the beginning of the end of ISIS in Iraq.
Here's what makes Mosul so important to ISIS and the region:
Mosul is massive
Mosul
is Iraq's biggest metropolis outside of Baghdad, and gaining control of
the city was one of ISIS' most significant strategic wins. When ISIS
took Mosul in June 2014, it also took control of more than 2.5 million
people, whom the group subjected to horrors -- public beheadings,
throwing gay men to their deaths from the top of buildings and making
prisoners out of men who did not grow beards and women who did not wear
Islamic clothing, like burqas. There has been a mass exodus in the past
two years, and today around 1 million people remain.
It's near critical oil fields
An
Iraqi man walks near smoke billowing from oil wells, set ablaze by ISIS
before fleeing the oil-producing region of Qayyarah, on August 30,
2016.
Mosul's
location is incredibly important. It's a key trading city not far from
the borders of Syria and Turkey. Wresting Mosul away from ISIS would
significantly limit the movement of fighters, weapons and supplies.
The
city is located near some of Iraq's most vital oil fields, as well an
oil pipeline that services Turkey. Securing these fields could bolster
Iraq's economy. It could also hit ISIS' finances hard as the militant
group has been known to sell oil illegally to fund its operations.
The city is ISIS' 'cultural capital'
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi adressing worshippers at a mosque in Mosul
Mosul
is the place where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the ISIS
caliphate -- an area ruled by an Islamic government under a caliph,
regarded as a successor to the Prophet Mohammed.
According
to Fawaz Gerges, author of "ISIS: A History," Mosul is a crown jewel in
the so-called caliphate and has been considered the "cultural capital"
since Baghdadi's declaration there.
Mosul is home to an epic humanitarian crisis
ISIS' brutal rule in Mosul has forced hundreds of thousands to flee the city, with many now living in displacement camps.
ISIS'
control of Mosul has added tremendously to the refugee crisis, as
hundreds of thousands of people have already fled the city and are now
either internally displaced or living in foreign lands.
By
securing the city, the Iraqi government would be able to begin
addressing the humanitarian crisis there and ease the flow of refugees
into neighboring countries and beyond.
It's unclear what a free Mosul will look like
ISIS has carried out brutal rights violations against the Yazidi community in Iraq
But
defeating ISIS in Mosul is only half the battle. If the Iraqi-led
forces succeed in their offensive, Baghdad will have to hold onto the
city, rebuild its infrastructure and prove it can effectively govern it.
Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board.
Going
by efforts to rebuild Tikrit and Ramadi, there might be little cause
for optimism, Gerges told CNN. But he pointed out that significant US
investment into this particular operation boosted the chances that a
reconstruction is Mosul will be successful.
What
will happen to religious and ethnic minorities if the operation is
successful is one of the biggest unknowns in this battle.
ISIS
has targeted Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmen, Kurds, Yazidis, Shabaki and
many others, and liberating Mosul would allow for these minority
communities to return to the city. Many have existed there for centuries
and are vital to the social fabric of the Iraqi state.
But doling out power and territory to different groups will no doubt be complicated.
Until
2014, when ISIS gained control of Mosul, the city was considered the
center of the Assyrian Church of the East, as it houses the tombs of
several old testament prophets, including Jonah. Many of these historic
sites have since been destroyed and the Christians killed or chased out.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/17/middleeast/battle-for-mosul/index.html
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