Minister of Interior
reinstated more than 13,000 police and security personnel members in the
province of Nineveh after they were removed from their positions in 2014 and
fled the area once it fell to the Islamic State.
The
decision came after Minister, Yaseen al-Yasiri, visited the city of Mosul on
Sunday to discuss the security situation and staffing issues.
In
a press conference in the liberated province, Yasiri announced the return
and the reinstatement of 13,252 of police and security administration staff in
the governorate of Nineveh.
He
also mentioned the Iraqi government would “work to reinstate staff from other
sectors as well,” including those responsible for issuing driver’s licenses and
national identification documents.
“The
staff will begin their duties after the Eid al-Adha holiday is over.”
Hassan
Lheby, Deputy Governor of Nineveh, after his meeting with the Minister, told
local media that, “those chosen to return to work are police and security
officers and personnel that were let go after ISIS took control of areas in the
province” and were deemed by then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of having
“failed to perform their duties against the terrorist group.”
Governmental
employees, including security and the police forces of Mosul, have
held several protests and gatherings demanding reinstatement to
their former positions, from which they were discharged in June 2014 after the
attack on the city.
The
deputy governor also noted that, “prior to the occupation of Mosul, police
staff amounted to 24,000 individuals. There are now only 17,000, which
will be joined by the 13,000 returning to the force.”