LOC00:46
21:46 GMT
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (KUNA) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said Friday the threats posed by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is not restricted to Iraq and Syria but could reach the entire region as well.
The international community must contribute to the crackdown on the ISIL, Jaafari appealed in his address to the UN Security Council (UNSC) session on Iraq chaired by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
He said the ISIL militants came to Iraq from abroad "and are totally irrelevant to Iraq and Islam," noting that most of their victims were Muslims.
ISIL militants, he added, were committing grave human rights violations, attacking worshipping places, schools, public places, hospitals and even factories.
"This blatant challenge -- requires an international collective response, fighting those terrorists in Iraq -- is saving the entire human race worldwide," said Jaafari.
The top diplomat noted that ISIL was currently controlling 25 percent of Iraq's territories, committing massacres against innocent civilians, stealing their properties and kidnapping their daughters.
These attacks, he added, forced 1.8 million Iraqis to flee to the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan and other areas in the center and south of the country.
However, Jaafari said, the Iraqi people succeeded in holding national elections that paved way for the formation of an inclusive government, which would boost national unity and fight terrorist groups.
This government, added Jaafari, would work on strengthening its relations with regional countries and other nations around the globe "with open mind and heart."
Jaafari welcomed the international military support for the Iraqi and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to help them crack down on ISIL militants.
He called on UN member countries to comply with UNSC resolution 2170, specially regarding the stop of cross-border movement of, and funding for, militants.
For his part, UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said Iraq's transition has been painful and scarred by violence, yet people showed unmatched ability to persevere despite difficulties.
Mladenov told the UNSC session that ISIL and its affiliated armed groups have captured large parts of northern and western Iraq, as they gained access to substantial amounts of weapons, financial and natural resources.
Their networks spanning the region and beyond allow them to recruit foreign fighters in their battle to dismantle the Iraqi state, he said.
"ISIL continues to systematically undermine legitimate authorities through kidnappings, assassinations and violence," he said.
The humanitarian catastrophe caused by ISIL is of immense proportions, as the country is facing an escalating emergency with up to 1.8 million Iraqis displaced since January.
In the past fortnight alone, he confirmed, additional 10,000 families from Diyala province have been displaced from their homes.
The pressure on local communities across the country is growing as the continuity influx has created a massive shelter crisis.
The UN continues to face immense challenges in reaching an estimate 650,000 people who are still in areas of active conflict.
He called on the government of Iraq to establish a national strategy to address the situation of the internally displaced people (IDP's) as well as the immediate restoration of payment of salaries and essential social services throughout Iraq.
The UN official recognized Saudi Arabia's contribution of USD 500 million out of USD 712 million for the UN humanitarian efforts in Iraq, where over 60 percent of this substantial donation has already been spent on tents, food and other items for the hundreds of thousands of IDP's.
UN estimates that since January there has been at least 25,00 civilian casualties, including at least 8,500 deaths. (end)
moa.gb