Amid chaos and turmoil raging in Iraq, Iraqi President President Fouad Massoum made an important step by asking deputy speaker of parliament to form a new government. With this bold move, Haider al-Abadi would take the place of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Reports have made headlines that Kurds, Sunnis and Shi’ites have asked Mr. Maliki to step down. But he says he will seek a third term as Prime Minister.
US Welcomes Important Step in Iraq’s Government Formation Process
In a press statement in Washington DC, US Secretary of State John Kerry commended Iraqi President Fuad Masum’s charging of the nominee of the largest bloc in the Council of Representatives, Dr. Haider Al-Abadi, with the formation of a new government.
“This signifies the successful completion of the third step in Iraq’s constitutionally mandated government formation process.” – Secretary Kerry
According to Secretary Kerry, the United States applauds President Masum’s fulfillment of his constitutional duties and urges the Prime Minister-designate to form a government that is representative of the Iraqi people and inclusive of Iraq’s religious and ethnic identities.
With this commendable move, the United States pledges to continue to support Iraq’s democratic process and stand with the Iraqi people in their fight against terrorism.
Airstrikes Against Islamic State Militants in Northern Iraq
The U.S. military have launched airstrikes on Islamic militants in Iraq earlier this week, shutting down armored carriers that were targeting on civilians.
The Islamic State militants were on rapage firing on Yazidi civilians near Sinjar.
ISIL A Threat To Iraq’s Stability
In June this year, Iraq’s notorious rebel fighters seized the country’s second-largest city of Mosul.
The rebel fighters popularly known as the Islamic State of Iraq, or ISIL, made advances in the city where hundreds of rebels launched an assault on Mosul, creating clamor and mass displacements in the city.
Before they gained control of the city, the rebel group took control of the governor’s headquarters and TV stations.
The rebel fighters belong to the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The U.N. headquarters building in Baghdad after the Canal Hotel bombing, on 22 August 2003. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The recent terroristic moves are not something new for ISIL – the group is known for its insurgency operations in Nineveh and other provinces.
Mosul is the second city to be seized by ISIL militants this year. The Iraqi government lost control of Fallujah earlier this year.
With the raging aggression in Mosul, the International Organization for Migration estimates that the number of people displaced by violence in Mosul and surrounding areas of Ninewa governorate in recent days may have reached 500,000.
