Zowaa.org / Nineveh Plain
A member of the Political Bureau of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, Mr. Gevara Zaia, called for the withdrawal of the Peshmerga forces from the rest of the Nineveh Plain areas such as Alqosh, Tesqopa (Teleskof) and Shikhan, as well as from Kirkuk and the other so-called “disputed areas” in order to avoid any tension that could lead to more disasters in the region and to fulfill the enforcement of the rule of law.
On October 24, 2017, as a result of the clashes, nearly 1,000 families were displaced from the villages of Tesqopa and Baqopa, resulting in a number of civilians wounded. The residents are still displaced, causing disruption to their governmental work in schools, the rest of the districts, and affecting their regular jobs in agriculture and markets.
Gevara Zaia emphasized: it is necessary to delegate the authority of the law, both “administrative and security”, to the official local institutions of the sub-districts of the Nineveh Province and to the local security forces, such as the police and the local crowd.
Zaia refuses to administrate the Nineveh Plain areas jointly between the region (KRG) and the center (Federal Government), stating that this kept the residents in a state of anxiety and fear of further tension.
The participation of the local residents in administrating and securing their areas is evidence of the lack of marginalization experiences by authorities, and as a principle of local representation in the political future of these areas, he added.
The clashes in Tesqopa wounded 3 people, including 2 children, all wounded near their homes in a local neighborhood. As a result of these clashes, 1000 families were once again displaced. The people of the Nineveh Plain have called to avoid clashes and bloodshed in their areas, so as to not repeat the scene of displacement that the residents experienced when the area was hit by tragedies from the invasion of ISIS, which led them into a mass displacement from their homes lasting over 3 years.