Iraqi VP blames US for ‘bloodshed in Iraq, Syria, Yemen'
"Maliki has contributed to the formation of the sectarian Shiite militias which have weakened the government forces."
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – After the US Secretary of State blamed Iraqi Vice President for his sectarian tendencies, the VP on Wednesday accused the United States of creating Islamic State (IS).
Nuri al-Maliki, the Vice President of Iraq, told reporters that “The outgoing Obama administration is responsible for the creation and rise of Da’esh [an Arabic acronym for IS] terrorist organization and the bloodshed in Iraq, Syria and even in Yemen.”
On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry accused Maliki of undermining the government and of being the reason behind the expansion of the IS extremists in Iraq.
“Maliki has contributed to the formation of the sectarian Shiite militias which have weakened the government forces in the face of Da’esh terrorist elements,” Kerry told an Arabic television channel.
Maliki responded that “The remarks by the head of the US diplomacy is just an attempt to hide the failure of Obama administration against IS.”
Maliki was the Prime Minister in Iraq when IS extremists occupied one-third of the country in 2014.
The Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani has also blamed Maliki for the IS invasion of Mosul and other Iraqi cities.
In an interview with CNN in July 2014, when Maliki was still the Iraqi premier, President Barzani said, “He [Maliki] is the general commander of the army. He builds the army on the ground of personal loyalty to him, not loyalty to the whole country."
"Maliki monopolizes authority and power. He led the military, and this is the result,” President Barzani continued, referring to the IS invasion of Iraq.
Iraqi security forces and the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces have liberated majority of the areas from the IS extremists as the Iraqi army operation to retake the city of Mosul is ongoing.
Editing by Ava Homa