Arab FMs urge Iraq to dismantle militant groups, end foreign military presence

Arab foreign ministers, who attended an Arab League meeting on Tuesday on Iraq, urged the Iraqi government to immediately dismantle the militia and end any illegal military presence that contributed to escalating the tension, Egypt's news agency MENA reported.

In a statement issued after their meeting at the AL headquarters in Cairo, Arab foreign ministers voiced deep concern about the state of lawlessness and continuing killing currently witnessed in Iraq.

The statement condemned what it said were "terrorist and criminal acts, killings, sectarian violence and forced displacement," which have killed thousands of Iraqis.

The statement called for preserving the identity of Iraq, with the Iraqi Committee rejecting all and any calls at division.

Under the chairmanship of Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, the Iraqi Committee groups Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt and AL Secretary General Amr Moussa.

Moussa and al-Khalifa said at a joint press conference after the meeting that the Iraq meeting focused on the issue of Iraq's national reconciliation.

Before the meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the Iraqi government needs the assistance from Arab countries in order to achieve stability in Iraq.

He also said that an Iraqi national reconciliation conference will be held in Baghdad soon, but without giving a specific date.

The conference, grouping all powers, including the government and the opposition factions, is aimed at ending the security deterioration in the war-torn nation, Zebari was quoted by MENA as saying.

Source: Xinhua