‘UNSC backs Iraq government fight against militants’

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin says the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously supports the Iraqi government’s fight against terrorism.

Churkin, who holds the rotating presidency of the UNSC for the month of June, made the remarks while speaking to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their unanimous support to the government and people of Iraq in their fight against terrorism,” said Churkin, adding, “They strongly condemned all terrorist and extremist activities regardless of their motivation.”

The UNSC head also said the terrorism issue is serious in Iraq and requires a united response from the international community. In addition, Churkin stated that the terrorists of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) do not recognize borders and fight against governments.

The comments by Churkin came after the top UN envoy in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, briefed Security Council members on June 13 on the situation in the country.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also condemned the acts carried out by the militants, calling on the international community to support the Iraqi government’s fight against Takfiris.

On June 10, the terrorist ISIL took control of the city of Mosul in Nineveh Province, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

However, their advance has been slowed down as Iraqi military forces and volunteer fighters have begun engaging them on several fronts, in some cases even pushing the militants out of the areas they had earlier overrun.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has blamed Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing the Al Saud regime as a major supporter of global terrorism.