Iraqi PM: International community is failing on Islamic State
At the Paris conference Haider al-Abadi cites 'lots of word, little action' on the ground; points out that 60% of IS fighters are now foreigners.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday denounced the "failure" of international community in its fight against Islamic State, citing a lack of support for his country facing a rapid advance of the jihadists over the last year.
"I think it is a failure of the international community. Concerning supporting Iraq, there are many words but little action on the ground," decried al-Abadi in Paris, during a press conference just before the opening of a meeting of the international conference of the US-led coalition against IS.
Al-Abadi also stressed that his country was not being helped with arms and ammunition. "We did not receive much, almost nothing. We must rely on ourselves," he said.
"Due to financial problems, we are not able to conclude new arms supply contracts. Most contracts were concluded by the previous government with the Russians. The Russians are now subject to US sanctions and it is very difficult to pay for these weapons. The money is there in the bank but we can not access it", he added.
"We are not asking for weapons but please let us buy weapons more easily," he insisted.
Al-Abadi said coalition partners were not providing Iraqi forces with sufficient air intelligence to stem ISIS advances, while support for ground operations was also lacking.
"Air support is not enough. There is too little surveillance. ISIS is mobile and move in very small groups. It's not enough," Abadi told reporters at the talks.
Growing numbers of foreign fighters
"What I see in Iraq is a greater number of foreign fighters than before. In the past, Iraqi fighters were estimated at 58% and foreigners at 42%. Today the proportion has reversed with 60% of foreign fighters and 40% of Iraqis", al-Abadi pointed out.
"ISIS is creating a new generation of fighters who are dedicated, indoctrinated, who are prepared to die but are not suicide bombers. This is an international problem which must be solved", he added.
The focus of the meeting of the countries of the US-led international coalition and international organizations is to reconsider the strategy to adopt towards the Islamic State's in light of its advances in Iraq and Syria.
Al-Abadi must explain to coalition members that his government intends to take to regain Ramadi and the province of Al-Anbar, and how international partners can help him.
