Iraqi army launches campaign to retake Tikrit from IS

(Baonghean) - On Monday, March 2, Iraqi state television reported that the Iraqi army, in conjunction with Shiite forces, had begun an offensive campaign to retake the city of Tikrit from the Islamic State (IS) organization.

Iraqi troops in the north of Baghdad on March 1. Photo: Reuters /Thaier Al-Sudani

On Monday, Al-Iraqiya channel said that about 27,000 soldiers supported by artillery and air force will launch attacks to drive IS out of Tikrit - a city located 130 km north of Baghdad. Before the campaign began, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi called on the people to support the government's military operations.

“The main priority of the army and security forces is to protect the safety of the people,” Mr. Haider Al-Abadi stressed. According to many analysts, it seems that Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi wants to reassure Sunni residents in Tikrit that pro-government forces will not take revenge on Sunnis if the army drives IS out of the area.

At the same time, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi also gave IS supporters “a last chance” to disarm and surrender to the army. Mr. Haider Al-Abadi emphasized: “If IS supporters continue to indulge in sin, they will receive appropriate punishment.”

Up to now, despite retaking some areas thanks to airstrikes by the international coalition against IS, the Iraqi army has yet to win the recapture of Tikrit - Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Last Saturday, Hadi Al-Ameri, the commander of the anti-IS forces in Iraq, called on Tikrit residents to leave the city in the coming hours to avoid “revenge for Speicher.” Speicher is a military base near Tikrit that employs hundreds of mostly Shiite workers. The Speicher employees were captured and executed in a surprise attack by IS in June 2014.

The incident sparked outrage among the Shiite community. Since then, Shiite forces have promised to avenge the deaths in Speicher. This has led many to fear that there will be more killings of Sunnis if Shiite forces retake Tikrit. And these fears are well-founded as some Sunni tribes in Tikrit have been accused of participating in the Speicher massacre.

Chu Thanh

According to Le Monde 2/3