U.S. And Iran Back New Iraqi Prime Minister

U.S. And Iran Back New Iraqi Prime Minister

While Iran was the main supporter of the soon-to-be-former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, yesterday saw Iran congratulate his successor, Haider al-Abadj, in line with U.S., Soudi Arabia and other NATO members.

Iran also offered to give Mr. Maliki political asylum as tensions have grown between him and army officials after the prime minister said that security forces have no business getting involved in Baghdad politics.

The international support for Mr. Haider al-Abadj, even from countries that had a different approach to Middle Eastern politics is expected to aid him in forming a strong government that takes all minorities and influences into consideration, something that his predecessor failed to do.

Even if Mr. Abadj succeeds in forming a unified and strong government though, there is still little to be done in the immediate future to counter the Islamic State’s atrocities in the northern part of the country.

The United Nations reported that thousands of members from the Yazidis sect are still isolated on Mount Sinjar without basic health care or even water and food. The UN also said that the likelihood of genocide is high; particularly as ISIL members seem to force sect members to convert or else be killed.

According to an UNHCR spokesperson, anywhere between 20,000 and 35,000 minority members have escaped Mount Sinjar and arrived in the city of Dohuc by crossing into Syria and then back into Iraq. Basic healthcare, water and food are a huge problem even with intensified humanitarian aid.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday August 14 2014, 6:02 AM EDT. Ref: irishtimes. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0