Iraqi VP calls for interim body to run post-Daesh Mosul

By Ali Sheikho and Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Vice-President Ayad Allawi on Thursday called for the formation of a "transitional political body" to administrate the northern city of Mosul following its anticipated recapture from the Daesh terrorist group.

Allawi made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting he held with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Douglas A. Silliman.

According to the Iraqi vice-president, the proposed "transitional body" should be tasked with running Mosul’s affairs until provincial council polls can be held.

Allawi went on to say that the current army campaign to "liberate" the city from Daesh should be "conducted in a way that ensures civilians are protected and provided with basic humanitarian needs and displaced people allowed to return to their homes [in Mosul]".

He also stressed the need to foster national reconciliation among Iraqis, prevent the emergence of new "incubators of terrorism and extremism", and provide war-weary citizens with adequate security.

Sajida Mohamed, for her part, an MP for the Nineveh province (of which Mosul is the regional capital), said Mosul’s current municipal administration -- namely its mayor and provisional council -- should assume responsibility for governing post-Daesh Mosul.

"The city already has a legally-elected provisional council and mayor," Mohamed, who represents the "Iraqi Forces" bloc in parliament (which holds 53 of the assembly’s 328 seats), told Anadolu Agency.

According to the MP, a new political body tasked with running Mosul "cannot be established until elections are held".

A number of Iraqi politicians have recently called for the appointment of a "military governor" to run Nineveh on a temporary basis following its recapture from Daesh.

Iraqi provincial elections had initially been slated for April of next year. The presidency, however, formally asked that they be postponed due to the ongoing fight against Daesh in the Nineveh and Anbar provinces.

A fresh date for the polls, meanwhile, has yet to be set.

For the last seven weeks, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground -- has been waging a wide-ranging offensive to retake Mosul, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.