LONDON
The U.K. supports the Syrian's opposition against the Assad regime and the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq, as it holds the Syrian regime responsible for the ongoing violence in Iraq, British Foreign Secretary said on Thursday.
Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to meet political leaders to discuss the growing crisis the country faces caused by the advance of militant Sunni insurgents led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Hague said ISIL is carrying out similar crimes in Syria and believes “the Assad regime bears a direct responsibility for creating the conditions in which this terrorism can thrive.”
“The message from the United Kingdom is very clear,” said Hague in a statement, “We urge all Iraq’s leaders and communities to unite.”
Hague stated that the expansion of ISIL militants would have enormous consequences for Iraq and its neighbors’ stability and freedom.
“We believe the single most important factor that will determine whether or not Iraq overcomes this challenge is political unity,” Hague said.
ISIL militants, which already had control of parts of Syria, seized Iraq's second-largest city Mosul on June 10 and have captured a number of other towns in the north including Tikrit and Tal Afar. They also hold control of Al Qaim, Rawah, Anah, Ratba and Haditha in the western province of Anbar.
www.aa.com.tr/en
