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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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09Jul14
Iraqi PM accuses Kurds of basing terrorists
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday accused the Kurds of providing a base for the operations of the terrorist groups, promising to free all lands seized by the militants.
"We will never be silent that Arbil become a base of operation for Daash (Arabic first letters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant or ISIL), Baath, al-Qaida and the terrorists," Maliki said in his weekly televised speech.
Maliki called on the authorities of Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to stop the activities of the opponent politicians and some political figures of Sunni insurgent groups.
For years, the Shiite Iraqi prime minister has been at odds with the Kurds, and the relations between the central government in Baghdad and Kurdistan authorities further deteriorated after the Sunni insurgents took control of several provinces adjacent to the Kurdish region.
The regional leader Masoud Barzani said the Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, took over the disputed areas after the Iraqi security forces abandoned their positions as the insurgency rolled on.
On July 3, Barzani asked the regional parliament to prepare for independence referendum for the Kurdish region as well as the disputed areas adjacent to the country's northern region. The disputed areas are mainly ethnically mixed with the Kurds, Arabs and Turkmans, as well as other races. The Kurds demanded to expand their autonomous region in northern Iraq to include the oil- rich province of Kirkuk and other areas in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Salahudin and Diyala.
Maliki also said the Iraqi security forces are advancing toward the provinces that were seized earlier by the Sunni militants, including those who are linked to the ISIL.
"The battle course has been changed from repelling the attacks to advancing, clearing and chasing those (militants). The provinces are being freed one after another," adding that they will not stop until all seized territories are freed.
Maliki's comments came as the country has been struggling with some of the worst violence in years. About a month ago, armed Sunni insurgents, led by ISIL, launched a surprise offensive on Iraqi security forces.
The insurgents quickly captured a large chunk of the country's northern and western territories as Iraqi troops fled abandoning their posts and military equipment.
[Source: Xinhua, Baghadad, 09Jul14]
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