15 January 2018•Update: 15 January 2018
By Muayyad al-Tarfi
BAGHDAD
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri on Monday stressed the need to disarm the “militias” currently operating in the country.
Al-Jubouri made the assertion at a parliamentary seminar held with the aim of discussing means of preserving Iraq’s “cultural and civilizational identity”, especially in the war-battered northern Nineveh province.
“We must stress the need to disarm militias and reintegrate societies that took up arms to defend themselves during wartime,” al-Jubouri said.
With regard to security in the city of Mosul (regional capital of Nineveh province) in the post-Daesh era, he added: “The return of displaced people to their homes is a critical element to rebuilding the city.”
He went on to stress the importance of providing the people of Mosul with all necessary support.
“We must overcome ethnic, ideological and religious conflict with a view to achieving national reconciliation and moving past our differences,” al-Jubouri said.
In mid-2014, the Daesh terrorist group overran roughly one third of Iraq, including much of Nineveh province.
Over the course of the last year, however, the Iraqi military -- backed by a U.S.-led coalition -- has succeeded in recovering almost all lost territory.
Early last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that Iraq had been “entirely purged” of Daesh militants.
During the recent war against Daesh, tens of thousands of Iraqis volunteered to fight alongside the Iraqi security forces against the notorious terrorist group.
