After nine months of devastating battle, Mosul was finally liberated from ISIS in July 2017. The city is the second largest in Iraq, and it was here that the Caliphate was proclaimed in 2014. A look at the situation in Mosul today.
The rule of so-called Islamic State has left deep scars in Mosul. Thousands of buildings were reduced to rubble during the fight to regain the city from the armed group. Some say the battle in Mosul on 10 July, 2017 was the most serious combat operation since World War II. Mosul needs to be rebuilt – but who will oversee this? Who will restore the cultural heritage destroyed by ISIS? And who is capable of keeping the city secure? Filmmaker Anne Poiret spent a year following Iraqis’ efforts to rebuild their city. Her film documents the difficulties they face, and portrays those who have lost everything. Some of Mosul’s residents are carrying on the search for the thousands of people still missing today. Others are considering leaving the city. And others still yearn for revenge. But there are also those who wish for the return of ISIS. These days, families of supporters haunt the city, hiding from Shiite militias sent there to hunt them down. The future of the country, the entire region, and possibly the whole world rests on the situation in this city. And warns that failures of the international community, laxity of the Iraqi administration, and a rise in corruption and instability could provide ISIS with an opening to regain strength.
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