The United States of America today made an announcement that US Ambassador to Iraq James Franklin Jeffrey has discussed the issue of permitting Iran to ferry arms to Syria through or over Iraq’s territory with senior most Iraqi officials over the weekend.
According to the US States Department, the Iraqi officials expressed a commitment to ensuring that Iraqi territory and airspace would not be used as a transit point for weapons to Syria.
The United States government encourages the Iraqis to take whatever measures they can to ensure the implementation of the appropriate United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
The United States will continue to coordinate on this issue with the Government of Iraq on effective ways of enforcing the UNSC resolutions in place.
Reports say U.S. officials last week raised concerns with the Iraqis that a growing number of Iranian cargo flights crossing Iraq for Syria were carrying weapons.
However, the Iraqi government denied that shipments were only carrying humanitarian goods and not weapons.
U.N. officials say more than 8,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the turmoil in the country.
Media reports say that in Damascus, the security forces have lost 2,000 dead.
The death toll keeps rising in Syria as Government forces continue their deadly crackdown against the pro-democracy protesters.
Earlier this year, the United Nations has sounded alarm that as regime violence continue to escalate in Syria, emergency assistance is desperately needed to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.
The uprising in Syria is part of a broader popular protest movement that has engulfed North Africa and the Middle East this year and led to the toppling of long-term regimes in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen.
