ANKARA (Sputnik) – Mosul, the second biggest Iraqi city as well as a number of other northern and western Iraqi cities and towns were seized in 2014 during an offensive of Daesh outlawed in Russia.
"We fear that after liberation from IS [Daesh] these regions [Mosul and Tal Afar] can turn into a zone of sectarian confrontation. But US leadership is still impacted by other views of Mosul, our allies are lacking transparency… Ceding to the Shia militia and then adding Kurdish militia to them means starting a new fire there," Yildirim said, addressing the Turkish parliament.
He noted that Tal Afar was populated by both Sunnis and Shias.
"If the balance is overturned, a huge tragedy can occur. Disruption of the demographic and ethnic structure will escalate the conflict instead of [ensuring] stability," Yildirim said.
