Al Maliki rules out a unity government in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has ruled out on Wednesday the formation of a national emergency government to address the militants offensive by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (EIIL), which since December has jeopardized the Iraqi army in the northwest. ” The call to form a government of national emergency is a coup against the Constitution and the political process,” the prime minister said in a televised speech.

This announcement two days ago just after U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, met in a surprise visit to al- Maliki in Baghdad and one day after visiting Erbil (the North), where he talked with Kurdish leader, Masud Barzani, to promote a unity government in the country, fragmented Shiitt, Sunni and Kurdish factions. “When participate in choosing the government, Iraq will be stronger and safer,” then said Kerry, who has traveled to Brussels to join other representatives of NATO and address the crisis in Iraq.

Almost half of the 300 U.S. special troops promised by President Barack Obama to support the Iraqi Army in curbing offensive  have come to the capital on Wednesday morning, according to Pentagon sources cited by the BBC who said that 40 personnel already in the front lines. ” The rest will come in a matter of days,” says the BBC.

The UN issued Tuesday that some ” 1,000 civilians have been killed since June 17 ” forces in fighting between the army and rebels EIIL. In addition, since the fighting began, displaced now exceed half a million, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Extremist advance towards the capital, Baghdad, has caused the fall in the hands of EIIL several cities such as Tikrit, hometown of the late Saddam Hussein – and Baiji, a town that houses the country’s largest oil refinery.

But the conflict extends beyond Iraq’s borders. The main objective of EIIL is to establish an Islamic state or caliphate covering a territory from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel. Since last Sunday, Jordan started to mobilize its troops to the border with Iraq to curb jihadi progress that had taken control of several border posts.

It is anticipated that the July 1 the Iraqi parliament elects its president and later the head of government the Shiite al-Maliki, a majority (but not sufficient) gained in elections last month, has been committed.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on Jun 25 2014. Filed under Latest News, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.