The Iraqi parliament voted 177 votes out of 325 in favor, despite defense and interior ministers still being vacant. Sunni and Kurdish delegates also attend. At least 40 states willing to collaborate with the United States to fight the Islamic Caliphate.

Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iraqi parliament yesterday approved the new government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, with the aim of uniting national forces against the militants of the Islamic State (IS). Some key ministries such as interior and defense remain empty, but Abadi has promised that they will be filled within a week.

The new prime minister, a moderate Shiite, appointed Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi as oil minister and the Kurdish Rouz Nouri Shawis finances. He also chose Saleh al-Mutlak, a Sunni, and Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, as vice-premiers. The outgoing prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, was entrusted with the post of vice-president.

Abadi has an important task: to mend the trust and cooperation among all components of Iraqi society after the Maliki administration that took office in 2006, which favored Shiites, penalizing Sunnis (and former Saddam Hussein allies). In fact, Sunnis are the weak link through which the Islamic Army has entered Iraq and conquered almost a third of its territory.

Abadi's program includes the need to rebuild the army, reach agreement on Kurdistan's autonomy, give more power to local administrations and fight corruption. His government was voted by 177 votes out of 325.

President Barack Obama congratulated Abadi in a phone call. His Secretary of State, John Kerry, is traveling in the Middle East to gather support for an international coalition to combats the IS. According to a US diplomatic spokesman, at least 40 states say they were willing to work together to "weaken" and "defeat" the IS. Obama has already announced that the fight against IS will take place with air raids, without troops on the ground and without cooperation with Syria and Iran, although these two countries are directly threatened by the militias of the Islamic Caliphate.

 

• iraq
• government
• national
• unity
• kurds
• shiites
• sunni
• parlaiment