As Islamists continue to advance, US stays out whilst al-Sistani calls people to arms
Baghdad (AsiaNews) - Iraqi security forces "began their work to clear all our dear cities from these terrorists," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in Samarra.
The city, which is located 110 kilometres north of Baghdad, houses the revered Shiite al-Askari shrine. When the latter was bombed by militants in 2006, it sparked a bloody Sunni-Shia sectarian war that killed tens of thousands.
Despite the prime minister's statement, events seem to going in a different direction. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is linked to al-Qaeda terrorists, seems unstoppable in its offensive.
Yesterday the regular army clashed with the Islamists in Baquba, 50 kilometers north of Baghdad. ISIL remains in control of Tikrit (capital of Salaheddin province) as well as Mosul in the Nineveh Plain.
To counter the advance, the government has called on Iraqis to join the regular forces as volunteers. Thousands of men have responded, getting ready to fight the insurgents.
On Friday, top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for Iraqis to take up arms against the "terrorists" of the Sunni Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
"Citizens who are able to bear arms and fight terrorists, defending their country and their people and their holy places, should volunteer and join the security forces to achieve this holy purpose," Sistani's representative announced during Friday prayers in the city of Karbala. For the Shia religious leader, terrorism is far from Islam.
In the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Kurdish forces (peshmerga) have stepped into the security vacuum seizing Kirkuk, the oil-rich region bordering their self-governing territory, pushing back ISIS forces.
However, many analysts point out that the Kurds are not likely to spill their own blood for the rest of Iraq, an attitude that might lead to the fragmentation of the country.
So far, Saudi Arabia has not yet issued any comment. By contrast, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised Iraq's beleaguered Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki his government's full support against "terrorism" on Friday.
He told Maliki in a telephone call that Tehran would do its utmost to "combat the massacre and crimes of the terrorists," his office said. Iran "will not allow the supporters of terrorists to destabilize Iraq".
Baghdad's main sponsor, the United States, is not going to be rushed. "The United States will not involve itself in military action in the absence of a political plan by the Iraqis that gives us some assurance that they're prepared to work together," US President Barack Obama said.
The US leader added that any US plan is "going to take several days" to formulate, and any action will be "targeted and precise." At the same time, the US would also pursue diplomacy to resolve the issue.
Obama said so far there has been no disruptions in oil supplies but if there should be, "That would be a source of concern." Part of the consultations with other countries that are already taking place, he said, will be to seek assurances other oil producers can take up the slack if necessary.
"What we are witnessing is the fragmentation of power. The government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will never be able to centralize power in the same way he has," says Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics. "We are seeing a redrawing of boundaries for sure".
"ISIL has been able to embed itself with a disaffected and alienated Sunni community", Gerges explained. "In fact, the most important development about ISIL in the last year is its ability to recruit former officers and soldiers of the dissolved Iraqi army."
"If you observe how it has been waging war you see a skilled mini army, confident, that has command and control, is motivated and using war tactics."
Ultimately, "The Sunnis of Iraq are willing to go to bed with the devil to defeat Maliki, this is where the danger lies," Gerges concluded.
.png)
