Mosul on the Brink of Liberation Operations; Feelings of Liberation and Anxiety

As Iraqi forces prepare to attack the city of Mosul, residents of the city and those who have managed to flee feel a sense of liberation from the brutal rule of the group known as the 'Islamic Caliphate.' At the same time, they warn that the Sunni majority residing in Mosul is unwilling to accept the oppressive rule of the central government of Iraq, which is controlled by Shiites, after the liberation of the city. Reuters reports in a detailed article by Ahmed Rashid that the Iraqi army and its special forces, which are leading this operation, are gradually strengthening their positions around the city of Mosul, located 400 kilometers north of Baghdad. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the 'Islamic Caliphate' group, declared the self-proclaimed caliphate of this group in 2014 at the Grand Mosque of the city. According to Hisham al-Hashimi, an advisor to the Iraqi government on combating the 'Islamic Caliphate' group and author of a book titled 'The World of ISIS,' the operation to liberate Mosul is set to begin in late September. Several residents of Mosul who recently fled the city say that as the attack by government forces approaches, defiance and resistance against ISIS have increased. One resident, who spoke with Reuters via mobile phone, mentioned that people have graffiti-ed the letter 'M' on walls, symbolizing the word 'Resistance,' or painted two red and black stripes, representing the Iraqi flag. According to residents of Mosul, the Iraqi flag has been raised twice in recent months in the city squares, only to be quickly torn down by ISIS agents. Videos of this event have been published on Facebook, confirming these reports. Mosul, which once had a population of over two million, is the largest city under the control of the 'Islamic Caliphate.' According to Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, the liberation of Mosul will signify the complete defeat of this group in Iraq. The Iraqi Defense Minister stated last week that most commanders and senior officials of the 'Islamic Caliphate' have fled Mosul to Syria with their families. Residents of Mosul also report that as Iraqi forces gather around the city, ISIS fighters are extremely anxious and worried. The 'Islamic Caliphate' has severely controlled and restricted all communication channels to suppress any dissent and prevent information from reaching the Iraqi army or international coalition forces. Mobile communication networks have been cut off since 2014, satellite television networks have been banned, and internet access is only allowed through the group's servers. Security agents of the group known as 'Aminah' monitor people's connections to social networks like Facebook and force individuals at checkpoints to unlock their mobile phones and prove they do not have Facebook. Reuters continues its report by describing the life under the control of the 'Islamic Caliphate' from the perspective of several residents of Mosul who have fled the city. One of these individuals, named Younes, a literature teacher, states that he fled Mosul despite all the dangers due to fears of his eight-year-old son being brainwashed. He claims that the 'Islamic Caliphate' tries to turn all children and teenagers into jihadists by teaching their violent beliefs in schools. He shows a photocopy of the cover of a fifth-grade textbook, which features a picture of a boy armed with an AK-47. Although they are now in Baghdad, his wife still completely covers her face with a veil. She is dissatisfied with this situation and protests that women are not slaves, but life under ISIS has stripped them of their human dignity. Younes mentions that after the advances of the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces in May and June of this year, he managed to escape from Mosul by paying a taxi driver five thousand dollars, taking advantage of the chaos in the area. The International Red Cross warns that following the start of the battle to liberate Mosul, about one million residents of the city and its surrounding areas may be displaced, creating a significant humanitarian problem for Iraq. Due to the ongoing war in Iraq, over 3.4 million people have been displaced in various parts of the country that were under the control of extremist groups and have sought refuge in areas controlled by the government or Kurdish forces.