Friday, August 17, 2007
Yezidi leader blames Iraq, Iran for attack
Security
(Al-Sharqiyah television) - Yezidi leader Anwar Mu'awiyah al-Umawi has accused the Iraqi government and Iran of responsibility for the August 15 attacks. He told Al-Sharqiyah television in an August 15 interview from Germany: "We received direct reports from informed sources in the area that the Iraqi government played a role [in the attacks]. Gangs affiliated with Iran are known to carry out such attacks. We should not forget that Iraq is not only under U.S. occupation. Iraq is under both U.S. and Iranian occupation.
These operations are meant to harm the Iraqis rather than a certain sect." Al-Umawi said his people have no one to turn to for support. "Iraq is now run by the traitors, while patriotic Iraqi figures, prominent leaders, and secular trends are abroad. So, who is there to complain to? Shall we complain to the Iranians, who are the enemies of Iraq? Shall we complain to the Americans, who are occupying the country? We have only God to complain to."
The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council blamed "criminal gangs" for the Sinjar attack in an August 16 press release posted to the Shi'ite party's website. Though it did not accuse any party of carrying out the attack, the party's statement implied that Sunni Arabs are to blame. The statement called on Iraqi tribes and "popular forces" to work with Iraqi security services to "rid the Iraqi people of their killers."
In an August 15 statement, President Talabani called the bombings another episode of genocide carried out by "takfiri" (Muslims who consider other Muslims to be infidels) terrorists against all segments of the Iraqi people, Al-Iraqiyah television reported. Kurdistan regional President Barzani accused the intelligence agencies of unidentified regional countries of carrying out the attacks, Al-Sharqiyah television reported.
Meanwhile, the Sunni Arab Muslim Scholars Association said it holds the Iraqi government and coalition forces responsible for the attacks. The statement also implied Iran was behind the bombings. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the bombings a "horrific crime," and stressed "the urgent need for all Iraqi leaders, regardless of their political or religious affiliations, to work together to protect civilian lives and to dedicate themselves towards a meaningful dialogue aimed at ending the violence and achieving lasting national reconciliation," according to a UN press release. The U.S. military has said the bombings bore the hallmark of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Kurdistan regional government Heath Minister Abd al-Rahman Yunis said the Kurdistan regional government and the Iraqi Red Crescent have begun to deliver relief supplies, food, and medicine to the villages.
Labels: Al Qaeda, AMS, Anwar Mu'awiyah al-Umawi, Iran, Iraqi government, Iraqi Red Crescent, KRG, SICI, Sinjar, Yezidis
