By International Christian Concern
Claire Evans
Claire Evans
The death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on October 26 was followed five days later with an announcement
by ISIS via Telegram that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi will
inherit leadership of the terrorist organization. However, it is
believed that the name is a nom de guerre, and no other information is
known about his identity. It is unclear how this choice will come to
define ISIS. However, religious minorities warn that ISIS will continue
its extremist violence.
“It is important to remember that even though Baghdadi is
personally dead, it will be a tremendous mistake to consider ISIS, the
ideology, or the tens of thousands of ISIS members as no longer a
threat. It is still a threat, and complacency is not a good option,” said the Free Yazidi Foundation.
“The killing of al-Baghdadi was expected, but ISIS attacks in
Iraq, like the killing of the head of the ID in Diyala, are a bad
indication about ISIS still being in Iraq,” Fadi, another Iraqi Christian, explained to International Christian Concern (ICC).
Attempts to disrupt the organization of ISIS continue throughout
Iraq. The Interior Ministry announced the arrests of 22 suspected ISIS
members in the Nineveh Plains. Although the rest of the country is
engulfed in protests, it is worth noting that this number is on par with
reports from previous months.
Polarization
Upheaval in the Nineveh Plains came from a combination of both
national protests and the implications of the Syrian crisis. Protests
have not heavily featured in the Nineveh Plains, although the province
remains affected by the unrest defining the remainder of Iraq.
Protesters are generally demanding public accountability, job creation,
and infrastructure development. These demands resonate deeply with those
living in the Nineveh Plains, as the occupation of ISIS further
exacerbated these deeply engrained problems.
There have been sporadic bursts of communal support for protesters,
such as Christians in al-Qosh gathering to show their unity with the
protestors. However, these kinds of gatherings pale in comparison to
what the rest of the nation is experiencing.
Some locals report that priests in the Nineveh Plains are
discouraging these activities. Some have expressed relief that local
Shia militias have found their immediate priorities redirected. For
example, one Qaraqosh resident explained to ICC, “We are not paying any attention for the demonstrations. Shabak Shia will be busy fighting in Baghdad.”
Others have expressed concern that protesting in the Nineveh Plains
would be misinterpreted as intentionally creating security lapses for
the benefit of an ISIS resurgence. “Mosul is a part of Iraq, the
most underserved city… The people of Mosul are afraid to take to the
streets and demonstrate because immediately they will be accused of
being ISIS, so they prefer to stick to their homes,” said one current resident to a local news outlet.
“We are Christians of the Nineveh Plains,” said one local campaign to Ezidi24. “We
stand in solidarity with our fellow demonstrators, and we apologize for
not demonstrating because our cities are not allowed to demonstrate.”
Meanwhile, as the rest of the country protests, the Nineveh Plains
has also turned its attention toward absorbing the implications of a
developing crisis in neighboring Syria. Fearing ethnic and religious
cleansing, Syrian refugees are moving through this disputed territory to
the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). Their fears echo those of
Nineveh Plains residents during the ISIS occupation, who also sought
refuge in the KRG.
Syrian refugees are entering Nineveh through villages just north of
Sinjar, where ISIS committed genocide against the local Yazidi
population. The governor of Nineveh visited the border out of concern
that an influx of refugees could hide an infiltration of ISIS
insurgents. According to an anonymous security source reported by local news,
“The aim of the deployments is to secure the border in anticipation of
the influx of Syrian refugees and also to deter any attempts by ISIS
fugitives to infiltrate Nineveh.”
Investigation
Foreign Policy Magazine released a transitional justice survey
of 400 current Mosul residents and 200 internally displaced persons
(IDPs) who have a family member affiliated with ISIS. The survey
explored the perspectives of these individuals regarding how the justice
system should treat noncombatant ISIS supporters and ISIS fighters.
Mosul residents were more inclined to promote the death penalty for
noncombatants, whereas IDPs were more inclined to promote amnesty. Both
groups acknowledged that fighters will not surrender for judicial due
process without an incentive. The survey warned that at least 40% of
Mosul residents expressed no concern regarding retribution killings
outside of the judicial system.
Yazidi and Christian victims of ISIS also maintain mixed feelings
regarding transitional justice issues. Leadership figures encourage
victims to pursue solutions through the legal system. For example,
Yazidi activist Murad Ismael tweeted, “My
biggest fear is that the Yazidi genocide will go without open trials.
We want to know the details; we want this genocide to be documented; we
want victims to be listened to and honored; we want criminals to be
dishonored and incarcerated for life.”
Victims express deep frustration with Iraq’s severely inadequate
legal system. There is also continued concern about Mosul. As the center
of the Nineveh Governorate, it maintains an important administrative
function. Trust of residents, however, is limited. “I would treat them even worse if I have authority. They took everything. Their sin is that they stayed where there is ISIS,” said one Christian.
Meanwhile, the judicial process remains burdened by disagreements on
who accepts responsibility for housing and prosecuting ISIS militants.
The Nineveh Governorate has decided that its prisons can no longer hold
the number of suspected ISIS militants. Local authorities are expected
to transfer 1,000 prisoners to Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons near Baghdad.
A representative of Nineveh in Iraq’s Parliament said that 200
families of ISIS fighters have been moved from Syria’s infamous al-Hol
camp to camps just south of Mosul. Similar transfers may also be
forthcoming. European nations gathered in Baghdad to discuss
transferring ISIS fighters with European nationalities detained in Syria
to Iraq.
The reluctance of foreign nations to accept judicial responsibility
for the crimes of their fighters places great strain on Iraq’s already
weak legal system. Iraq remains firm that they are not responsible for
prosecuting and imprisoning foreign fighters for crimes not committed in
Iraq. “We take responsibility for our own citizens, their wives and children,” said Iraq’s foreign minister.