Iraq PM offers amnesty to turn tide of offensive
4 July 2014 4:18 AM IST
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki offered a general amnesty on Wednesday in a rare conciliatory move to undercut support for militants whose offensive has overrun swathes of territory and threatens to tear Iraq apart. The offer comes after a farcical opening to the new parliament, despite international leaders urging Iraq’s fractious politicians to unite to help combat insurgents, as the military struggles to seize the initiative on the ground.
International leaders have warned Iraq’s politicians there was no time to waste, while the head of a powerful jihadist group that led the militant advance urged skilled professionals to flock to help its newly proclaimed pan-Islamic state. Maliki’s surprise move, made in his weekly televised address, appeared to be a bid to split the broad alliance of jihadists, loyalists of executed dictator Saddam Hussein and anti-government tribes that has captured large chunks of five provinces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
‘I announce the provision of amnesty for all tribes and all people who were involved in actions against the state’ but who now ‘return to their senses’, excluding those involved in killings, Maliki said.
International leaders have warned Iraq’s politicians there was no time to waste, while the head of a powerful jihadist group that led the militant advance urged skilled professionals to flock to help its newly proclaimed pan-Islamic state. Maliki’s surprise move, made in his weekly televised address, appeared to be a bid to split the broad alliance of jihadists, loyalists of executed dictator Saddam Hussein and anti-government tribes that has captured large chunks of five provinces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
‘I announce the provision of amnesty for all tribes and all people who were involved in actions against the state’ but who now ‘return to their senses’, excluding those involved in killings, Maliki said.
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