"This is strong and sends the desired political message," the source said after foreign ministers from the 28-nation EU met for more than three hours to achieve unanimous approval for the shipment of weapons to forces fighting Islamic State jihadists.
The U.N. Security Council is also set to vote on a resolution on Friday that seeks to weaken Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria by cutting off the flow of foreign fighters and financial support, Reuters reported.
The measure is considered to be the toughest response yet against Al-Qaeda breakaway group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria which seized parts of territories in Iraq and Syria.
Since July, ISIS militants have seized a swathe of northern Iraq including the city of Mosul, routing Shiite-led Iraqi forces and driving out waves of refugees from the minority Christian and Yazidi communities.
The ISIS advance also threatens Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region and host to a U.S. consulate and other facilities. President Barack Obama, while ruling out sending U.S. combat troops, has vowed to protect it.
‘No holiday when people are dying’
- The
unscheduled gathering of EU ministers comes after days of forceful
demands by France, whose Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius criticized EU
colleagues for remaining on holiday while besieged civilians were being
killed in Iraq.
- “When there are people dying ... you have to come back from your holidays,” Fabius said earlier this week, after writing a letter to EU foreign affairs supremo Catherine Ashton demanding an extraordinary meeting of ministers.
Defense matters are strictly the purview of member states and France and Britain have already announced they will ship weapons to Iraqi Kurds struggling to push back Islamic State fighters.
EU governments are also alarmed by ISIS’ ability to attract fighters from Europe who then return home to the West battle-hardened from jihad.
Earlier this week, the European Commission announced it would boost humanitarian aid to Iraq to 17 million euros ($22 million), but Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, also a frontrunner to replace Ashton, said the real challenge in helping civilians was access, not funding.
Germany sends aid
On Friday, Germany’s armed forces on Friday began sending aid supplies to northern Iraq and the defense minister said Germany was looking into whether it would also deliver military equipment.The first plane set off for Arbil carrying medicines, food and blankets and further aid flights were planned for the day.
“Of course this is just the beginning and we’re working hard on sending further aid if necessary and it’s becoming apparent that is the case,” Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters at Hohn airbase in northern Germany.
“We are also working on the question of whether equipment is needed,” she added, such as protective helmets and vests.
Von der Leyen said Iraqi troops were trained on and wanted weapons from the former Soviet Union. “Germany does not have such weapon systems and could also not deliver them,” she said.
But in an interview with German’s mass-selling daily Bild she said: “Generally, if a genocide can be prevented with German weapons, then we must help.”
U.S. airstrikes
On Thursday, U.S. jets and drones launched more air strikes in northern Iraq to destroy vehicles operated by ISIS fighters, the military said.The latest operations came after Obama said the air campaign had achieved its initial objectives but warned of more strikes to protect U.S. personnel in the Kurdish city of Arbil.
U.S. Central Command said drones and fighter jets took part in the latest strikes, the first at 1505 GMT to take out two armed trucks that had been firing on Kurdish forces.
The second strike took place just over 30 minutes later, targeting an MRAP -- a heavy armored truck of the type supplied by Washington to Iraqi forces and presumably captured by ISIS forces in recent months.
“All aircraft exited the strike area safely,” Centcom said.
(With AFP and Reuters)
Last Update: Friday, 15 August 2014 KSA 17:34 - GMT 14:34
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/15/U-S-jets-strike-ISIS-armored-vehicles-in-Iraq-.html
15/8/14
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La Belgique pourrait assurer la livraison d'armes aux Kurdes irakiens...
ReplyDeleteRéunis en urgence à Bruxelles, les ministres européens des Affaires étrangères sont parvenus vendredi à une position commune sur la livraison d'armes aux combattants kurdes en Irak et ont appelé à la rapide formation d'un gouvernement irakien d'union. La décision de livrer des armes revient à chaque Etat membre. La Belgique pourrait participer à la livraison d'aide humanitaire ou d'armes fournies par d'autres pays. Les ministres sont aussi convenus de tenter d'impliquer tous les pays de la région, de l'Arabie saoudite à l'Iran, dans la lutte contre l'EI.
Alors que la France et les Etats-Unis avaient déjà indiqué qu'ils livraient des armes aux forces kurdes, et que l'Allemagne disait y réfléchir, un accord est intervenu au sein de l’Union en faveur de livraisons d’armes aux kurdes irakiens.
Le président Barack Obama avait annoncé dès jeudi soir que les frappes aériennes américaines contre les jihadistes avaient brisé le siège des monts Sinjar, dans le nord de l'Irak, où s'étaient réfugiés des milliers de Yazidis. Il avait assuré que d’autres frappes seraient possibles.
Dès ce vendredi matin, la Grande-Bretagne s’était également déclarée prête à examiner "favorablement" la possibilité d'armer les forces kurdes qui combattent les jihadistes en Irak si la demande lui en était faite.
Seuls certains pays fourniront des armes
"C'est une décision importante, et d'autres pays devraient suivre une voie identique ou voisine à celle de la France", s'est félicité le chef de la diplomatie française, Laurent Fabius.
La France, comme l'Italie et la Grande-Bretagne, étaient particulièrement soucieuses que l'UE fasse le maximum pour renverser le rapport de force en Irak, où les jihadistes de l'EI ne cachent pas leur ambition de s'emparer du pays tout entier pour y créer un Etat.
Même Berlin, plus réticent au départ, a fait taire ses réserves. "Les Européens ne doivent pas se limiter à saluer le combat courageux des forces kurdes. Nous devons aussi faire quelque chose pour répondre à leurs besoins", a souligné M. Steinmeier, qui se rendra en Irak ce week-end. L'Allemagne a toutefois jusque-là limité son soutien à la fourniture de matériels militaires non-létaux..................http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_accord-au-sein-de-l-ue-en-faveur-des-livraisons-d-armes-aux-kurdes-irakiens?id=8334132
Fighting ISIS only in Iraq is like extinguishing only half a fire...
ReplyDeleteBritish politicians and media are expressing concern over the advance of the terrorist Islamic State forces in Iraq and stress the need to counter the threat.
The atrocities by Islamic radicals deserve the strongest condemnation. The events in Iraq are another confirmation that terrorism is an absolute evil, and all responsible members of the international community should engage in coordinated efforts, rejecting any double standards.
In this situation one wonders why this extremist group, earlier known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is perceived by the international community as a threat only in Iraq, but not in Syria, where it also operates. Innocent people suffer in both countries and fighting ISIS forces only in Iraq means that they can always regroup in Syria. That is why there is an urgent need for clear criteria of cooperation with governments in the Middle East and North Africa. The fight against terrorists must become such a criterion. If we are addressing the terrorist threat in Iraq, the same should be done in other parts of the region, including Syria. With this in mind, the international community needs to establish counterterrorist cooperation with all the states that fight ISIS extremists.
Russia, for its part, supports the efforts of the legitimate Iraqi government in their uncompromising struggle against the terrorists – not only politically, but by providing, upon the Iraqi government’s request, necessary equipment and weapons. Russia will continue to do so. Russia appeals to all the Iraqi political forces to come to an agreement in the spirit of national consent, which will allow to effectively confronting any manifestation of extremism and terrorism in Iraq.
Russia also supports the actions of Iraq’s other partners when officially requested by the legitimate Iraqi authorities.
[The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.]
http://rt.com/op-edge/180644-isis-iraq-counter-threat/
17/8/14