Iraq 'facing threat of civil war'
Iraq faces the imminent threat of civil war as it approaches next week’s constitutional referendum, the secretary general of the Arab League warned today.
Diplomats from the League are flying to Iraq today to prepare a conference on reconciliation of the country’s different ethnic groups.
Secretary general Amre Moussa today warned that certain interests were promoting tension between Shias, Sunnis and Kurds for their own advantage.
Mr Moussa declined to point the finger of blame at any individual or party, saying that this would merely stoke up pressure even further.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The situation is so tense there is a threat looming in the air about civil war that could erupt at any moment, although some people would say that it is already there.
“We can’t just leave Iraq with the divisions and disagreements and conflicts and shootings.
“There is a policy to provoke and push communities against each other and there is another policy that would bring them together and it is our policy in the Arab League that the time has come for us to talk seriously about bringing them together.”
It was not enough simply to assume that approval of the constitution in the UN-backed October 15 referendum would put Iraq on to the path of democracy and stability, said Mr Moussa.
“The Security Council resolution has to be respected, but the situation in Iraq requires new policies, intervention, a shift by the Arab world, and that is what we are doing,” he said.
Asked who was to blame for increasing tension between Iraq’s communities, Mr Moussa said: “I am not accusing any particular party.
“Each of them is being encouraged to grab whatever they can grab. There are a lot of individuals, a lot of interests, now that are playing games with the future of Iraq and there is no clear strategy, there is no clear leadership.
“Now we have to say: ‘Stop. What are you doing? Where are you going?”’
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