Sunni tribes helping in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, have called for a federal state structure once the Islamic state is defeated, reports Reuters.
Fighters and community leaders from the Sunni community in Shayyalah al-Imam, a village near Mosul, expressed deep distrust in Iraq’s Shia-dominated governance, calling for deep changes once the war is over.
One Sunni tribal commander, Abdel Rahman Ali, told Reuters that federalism modelled on the autonomous Kurdish region in Norther Iraq is the best option.
Another Sunni tribesman who has been leading fights against Islamist militants for over a decade, including fighting al Qaeda, said,
“Federalism would be good but only if we have good leaders.”
Several Sunni communities are disillusioned with the Iraq governments ability to provide a truly sectarian governance, after experiencing several years of a Shi’ite majority lead governance after the fall of Saddam Hussein.