Iraq needs minorities to beat Daesh says Turkish FM

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

Iraq needs the support of its minority communities if it is to win the fight against Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday.

Speaking at a meeting with students in Gaziantep, southeast Turkey, Cavusoglu said: “Iraq has governing problems as 30 percent of the country is under the control of a terrorist organization."

“The Baghdad government could not win the trust of the Iraqi people. The Sunni, Kurdish and other people expelled by [former president] Maliki are still excluded. If Iraq wants to win its fight against Daesh, it needs to receive the support of these excluded communities.”

Turning to Syria, he said the country must be cleared of Daesh as well as the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

He said the refugee crisis was sparked by Syrians' loss of hope in the absence of a political solution to the country’s civil war.

The minister later met Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on his first official trip since being appointed earlier this month.