Fears mount as Shia militias tighten noose on Tal Afar

By Idris Okuducu

ERBIL, Iraq

Fears of possible sectarian conflict continued to mount on Friday as Shia militiamen surround northern Iraq’s Daesh-held, Sunni-majority city of Tal Afar.

Fighters from the Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella group of pro-government Shia militias, now surround the city -- populated mainly by ethnic Turkmen -- from the west and south.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, for his part, insists that only troops from the army’s 72nd and 92nd brigades -- composed of both Sunni and Shia units -- would enter Tal Afar.

The assurances, however, have failed to allay fears of potential sectarian conflict.

Hasan Turan, deputy director-general of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, has voiced concerns over the safety of the city’s Turkmen residents, who, he says, now face critical shortages of food.

"The Hashd al-Shaabi poses a serious threat to Tal Afar’s civilian population," Turan told Anadolu Agency.

Turan also voiced fears of possible "demographic changes" in Tal Afar, which had been home to some 350,000 Turkmen before the Daesh terrorist group captured the city in 2014.

"We have drawn up a plan by which the displaced people of Tal Afar can return to their homes," he said.

"Thousands of Tal Afar residents have recently fled to Turkey, Kirkuk, Karbala, Baghdad and Erbil," he added.

"It is crucial to ensure the return of these people to their homes," Turan said.

A senior Iraqi official in Tal Afar, who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to security concerns, warned of a potential "sectarian war" in Tal Afar in the event that Shia militiamen enter the city.

"Hashd al-Shaabi militiamen may seek revenge on the city’s mostly Sunni inhabitants," he said.

"Most of the Turkmen who have a chance to escape [from Tal Afar] are fleeing to areas held by Peshmerga fighters and the Iraqi army or to Daesh-held parts of Syria," the official added.

Aydin Maruf, an Iraqi MP for the Turkmen Front, said he was in contact by phone with several Turkmen families that remain stuck in Tal Afar.

Many of the city’s civilian residents have recently had to flee their homes due to mortar attacks by the Hashd al-Shaabi on Daesh-held parts of the city, said Maruf, going on to assert that only some 50,000 Turkmen still remained in Tal Afar.

"Although Daesh is trying to stop them from leaving the city, many Turkmen have fled to areas held by the Peshmerga or the Iraqi army," he said.

"We’ve also heard that some families have gone to Syria," he added.

Sunni political figures in Iraq have consistently warned that the entry of Shia militiamen into Tal Afar could trigger sectarian conflict with the city’s Sunni-Muslim residents.

Tal Afar is a Sunni-majority city in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the provincial capital.

Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would take "all necessary measures" to counter any potential threat posed by the entry of Shia militiamen into Tal Afar.

Last month, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and local allies on the ground -- began a wide-ranging operation to retake Mosul, Daesh’s last bastion in northern Iraq.

Within the same context, the Iraqi army -- in conjunction with the Hashd al-Shaabi -- also seeks to "liberate" Tal Afar (located some 50 kilometers west of Mosul) from the grip of the notorious terrorist group.