ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish President Massoud Barzani met the head of the US Central Command, Gen. Lloyd Austin, amid reports Washington is considering action to help lift a two month siege by the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) on Amerli, a Shiite Turkmen town in northern Iraq.
“The President and the US General discussed the military campaign currently underway against the ISIS terrorists and the military support of the US to the Peshmerga forces,” said a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
“President Barzani thanked the United States and other countries for their military and humanitarian support of the Kurdistan Regional Government and added that thanks to this support, the Peshmerga forces have now got the initiative against the terrorists,” added the statement, saying the meeting took place in Salahaddin.
General Austin recognized the role of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against the ISIS terrorists and reaffirmed the US continued support, the statement said.
The meeting took place amid reports the US is considering whether to extend its air strikes. The strikes are currently taking place against the IS in Iraq, but Washington has been flying surveillance flights over the militants in Syria, seen as a prelude to air strikes.
The meeting also coincided with reports that US President Barack Obama is thinking of authorizing air strikes and drops of humanitarian aid to break a two-month IS siege against the population of Amerli, which is close to the Salahaddin province.
Reports in Iraq have also said that different Shiite militia groups are gathering in Salahaddin province for a fight for the 20,000 beseiged residents of Amerli, who reports say are being slowly starved by the militants.
The UN’s Iraq chief Nikolay Mladenov on Saturday called for immediate action to forestall “a human rights tragedy” in the northern Iraqi town of Amerli, where inhabitants have been without food and water for two months, cut off from supplies by the Islamic State armies.
“The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens,” Mladenov said.
Most of the inhabitants of Amerli, 170 kilometers north of Baghdad, are Shiite Turkmen who are considered heretical and open to punishment under the militants’ religious beliefs.
“The President and the US General discussed the military campaign currently underway against the ISIS terrorists and the military support of the US to the Peshmerga forces,” said a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
“President Barzani thanked the United States and other countries for their military and humanitarian support of the Kurdistan Regional Government and added that thanks to this support, the Peshmerga forces have now got the initiative against the terrorists,” added the statement, saying the meeting took place in Salahaddin.
General Austin recognized the role of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against the ISIS terrorists and reaffirmed the US continued support, the statement said.
The meeting took place amid reports the US is considering whether to extend its air strikes. The strikes are currently taking place against the IS in Iraq, but Washington has been flying surveillance flights over the militants in Syria, seen as a prelude to air strikes.
The meeting also coincided with reports that US President Barack Obama is thinking of authorizing air strikes and drops of humanitarian aid to break a two-month IS siege against the population of Amerli, which is close to the Salahaddin province.
Reports in Iraq have also said that different Shiite militia groups are gathering in Salahaddin province for a fight for the 20,000 beseiged residents of Amerli, who reports say are being slowly starved by the militants.
The UN’s Iraq chief Nikolay Mladenov on Saturday called for immediate action to forestall “a human rights tragedy” in the northern Iraqi town of Amerli, where inhabitants have been without food and water for two months, cut off from supplies by the Islamic State armies.
“The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens,” Mladenov said.
Most of the inhabitants of Amerli, 170 kilometers north of Baghdad, are Shiite Turkmen who are considered heretical and open to punishment under the militants’ religious beliefs.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment