ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbot, announced on Sunday that his country will supply weapons to the Kurdish forces who are fighting the Islamic State (IS).
“Following the successful international humanitarian relief effort air-dropping supplies to the thousands of people stranded on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq, the Royal Australian Air Force will now conduct further humanitarian missions,” said PM Abbott in a statement published on the website of the prime minister’s office.
Prime Minister Abbott, who described the situation in Iraq as a “humanitarian crisis,” said that the United States had asked Australia to join the fight against the IS by transporting arms and other military equipment to northern Iraq.
“The United States government has requested that Australia help to transport stores of military equipment, including arms and munitions, as part of a multi-nation effort,” he said.
According to the official statement, C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would fly munitions and arms into the Kurdistan Region, where Kurdish Peshmerga forces are engaged in daily battles against Islamist militants.
“Australia’s contribution will continue to be coordinated with the government of Iraq and regional countries,” said PM Abbott’s statement.
In early August Islamist militants waged multi-front attacks against the Kurdish forces, capturing several towns, including Shingal, killing hundreds of Yezidi and Christian civilians and displacing tens of thousands.
The IS attack prompted a swift international response in support of the Kurds with promises of advanced weapons to push back the militants and regain lost territory.
The Australian prime minister said that his country has now joined Canada, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the United States “to conduct this important task.”
