There is also communication between the central government in Baghdad and the heads of tribes in Kirkuk about the formation of a properly organized armed force to fight the IS group in Kirkuk.
Al-Assi confirmed this, adding that the decision to form such a force is now pending government approval. But, he said, the approval should be sped up. “The delay in liberating these areas from the IS group is a continuous source of misery for the people who have to live under them, live with their mercy, their policies and their mistreatment,” al-Assi said.
Al-Assi outlines the plans for the formation of organised troops. The training, payment, arming and administration of any such force would be the responsibility of Baghdad. The tribes' role will be to supply the troops with “trusted and honest” forces and to help them avoid infiltration by “armed groups or individuals acting in bad faith”.
Despite all of this though there have not apparently been any real, organized efforts against the IS group in Hawija yet. People are upset with them, says one local inside Hawija contacted by NIQASH, who could not be named for security reasons, but up until now, most acts of resistance have been limited and individual.
“There are rumours about tribal leaders setting up forces to fight the IS group but there is no organized resistance yet,” the local said.
Most organized resistance by locals against the IS group seems to be happening in the Ninawa province at the moment, where the IS stronghold, the city of Mosul, is also located.
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