Reports: Nineveh Plain Protection Forces re-instated
Reports from Iraq claim that the Assyrian NPU force has been reinstated in the Nineveh Plain Region, effectively eliminating the role of Kataib Babiliyoun in the area.
Sources on the ground in Iraqi Assyria have stated that the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) have been reinstated in the Nineveh Plain Region. Reports began circulating on social media late Sunday, October 19, including a short statement on the NPU’s official Facebook page.
According to these early reports, the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (al-Hashd al-Shabi), Falih al-Fayyadh, announced a decision to restore the NPU as an independent force after it had previously been forcibly merged with the 50th Brigade, a unit closely associated with Rayan al-Kildani.
The NPU was formed in secret in the days following the ISIS invasion of Mosul in June 2014. It was established by local Assyrians at the suggestion of members of the Assyrian diaspora, who also financed its early development. The force later became officially incorporated into the PMU, gaining formal recognition and funding.
The NPU participated in the fight to liberate the Nineveh Plain from ISIS and subsequently served as the de facto local security force in the southern parts of the region, while Kurdish forces continued to occupy the north. In recent years, however, the force was overrun by the 50th Brigade (Kataib Babiliyoun), which established its own presence in the area.
Local Assyrians, including NPU leadership, have consistently called for the removal of the 50th Brigade from the Nineveh Plain, organizing public protests against the militia, a group made up mostly of Shia Arabs.
The decision, if fully implemented, would have a profound positive effect on the Nineveh Plain Region as it is still on a journey to recover from the onslaught of ISIS.
