By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD 

Hundreds of former army and police personnel who were sacked after Daesh overran much of the country in 2014 demonstrated in Baghdad on Friday to demand their jobs back.

In mid-2014, Iraqi government forces retreated as the terrorist group overran vast territories in northern and western Iraq, including the city of Mosul.

On Friday, hundreds of former army and police personnel -- sacked for allegedly cutting and running before the Daesh onslaught -- gathered in central Baghdad’s Tahrir Square amid a heavy security presence.

In late 2014, Iraq’s interior and defense ministries dismissed tens of thousands of security personnel in the Nineveh, Saladin, Anbar and Diyala provinces amid dereliction-of-duty allegations.

Participants in Friday’s demonstration in Baghdad shouted slogans demanding their reinstatement in the Iraqi security apparatus.

“We believe we were treated unfairly,” Majid al-Yasiri, protester and former policeman, told Anadolu Agency.

“Many of us were sacked even though we had been on leave at the time [of the 2014 retreat] or had been instructed by our commanders to redeploy to other areas,” he said.

“We have implored Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to allow us to return to military or police service,” al-Yasiri added.

In 2016, Iraq’s then-Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said his ministry had dismissed more than 100,000 military personnel accused of cutting and running before Daesh’s 2014 onslaught.