ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq’s vice president and former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has accused Kurdish leaders of “masterminding” the fall of Mosul to the hands of the Islamic State militants.
“Kurds were propagating against me and telling the Iraqi army (in Mosul) that the ISIS was not there to fight them, but to fight me and the Shiites only,” Nouri Maliki said during an interview with the Lebanese Manar TV on Saturday.
He also said, “I will provide evidence in the coming days which will show who facilitated the fall of Mosul and who told the Iraqi army to withdraw,” an accusatory Maliki said of the June events that led to the fall of Sunni heartland to the jihadists militants.
Maliki has also criticised a recent oil and budget agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, saying the deal was a show of compassion.
Kurdistan Region’s President Masoud Barzani has said Maliki was warned of the imminent threat Mosul city was facing, and declined Kurdish help to defend Mosul.
He said, “Mr Maliki did not heed to our warnings seriously, instead of accepting our help to protect the city, he told me to worry about Kurdistan,” Barzani told the Kurdish parliament in Erbil in June just days after ISIS had captured the city.
Sunni tribes in Nenawa province, where Mosul is the capital, have shown weak support for a strong Iraqi army presence in the area which they see as largely sectarian and Shiite.
“Kurds were propagating against me and telling the Iraqi army (in Mosul) that the ISIS was not there to fight them, but to fight me and the Shiites only,” Nouri Maliki said during an interview with the Lebanese Manar TV on Saturday.
He also said, “I will provide evidence in the coming days which will show who facilitated the fall of Mosul and who told the Iraqi army to withdraw,” an accusatory Maliki said of the June events that led to the fall of Sunni heartland to the jihadists militants.
Maliki has also criticised a recent oil and budget agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, saying the deal was a show of compassion.
Kurdistan Region’s President Masoud Barzani has said Maliki was warned of the imminent threat Mosul city was facing, and declined Kurdish help to defend Mosul.
He said, “Mr Maliki did not heed to our warnings seriously, instead of accepting our help to protect the city, he told me to worry about Kurdistan,” Barzani told the Kurdish parliament in Erbil in June just days after ISIS had captured the city.
Sunni tribes in Nenawa province, where Mosul is the capital, have shown weak support for a strong Iraqi army presence in the area which they see as largely sectarian and Shiite.
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