adminTHE Arab League said in a resolution yesterday that it would take “necessary measures” to combat “Islamic State” (IS) on the political, defence, security and legal levels. The League’s Cairo conference also backed the United Nations’ decision to impose sanctions on a number of the group’s fighters and called on the international community to help defeat the Sunni militant organisation.
Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, said at the opening session of the meeting yesterday that the rise of IS in Iraq threatened not only the authority of the state, but “its very existence and the existence of other states.”
The Arab League chief also criticized Arab states for underestimating the threat posed by IS jihadists.
IS — also referred to as ISIS and Isil — has taken over vast swathes of Syria and Iraq. Recent US airstrikes, however, have slowed the advance of the group, particularly in northern Iraq. Since August, the US military has carried out over 100 airstrikes in the country.
On Sunday, the US struck IS targets in Iraq’s western Anbar province near Haditha Dam, which had been under threat from the militants.
The Arab League meeting stopped short of endorsing any direct US involvement in the conflict. Elaraby said, however, that action against the militant outfit would include “international cooperation on all fronts.”
The US has already expanded its operation against IS. On Sunday, President Barack Obama said he would announce his “game plan” to defeat the militants tomorrow. The president, however, ruled out the possibility of a US ground offensive in Iraq.
Baghdad had welcomed Obama’s plan for an international coalition against the jihadists as a “strong message of support.” —AP/AFP.
derick.khumalo