JEDDAH: Ten Arab states, including Qatar, yesterday agreed to rally behind the US in the fight against Islamic State jihadists, as Washington seeks to build an international coalition.
The states “agreed to do their share in the comprehensive fight” against IS, said a statement after a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Arab counterparts.
Qatar’s delegation to the conference on terrorism was led by the Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon also attended.
In the final statement, they declared their “shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism, including the so-called IS”.
Participation in the fight will include “as appropriate, joining in the many aspects of a coordinated military campaign against IS”, said the statement.
The fight will include “stopping the flow of foreign fighters through neighbouring countries, countering financing of IS and other violent extremists, repudiating their hateful ideology, ending impunity and bringing perpetrators to justice”. It will also include “contributing to humanitarian relief efforts, assisting with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of communities brutalised by IS, and supporting states that face the most acute IS threat”.
Kerry told reporters that Arab partners will play a “leading role” in the coalition. “As I understand ... from the meeting we had today, Arab nations play a critical role.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal called for a “comprehensive approach” that does not focus on one country in the fight against “terrorism”, citing Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Yemen as affected nations.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama said he had ordered the US military to expand its operations against IS, a radical Islamist group that has seized a swathe of Iraq and Syria and committed horrifying atrocities.
“Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, IS through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy,” Obama said in a television address. “I will not hesitate to take action against IS in Syria, as well as Iraq.”
Obama announced the dispatch of another 475 military personnel to help train Iraqi forces to take on IS, bringing the total in the country to 1,600.
But he stressed that the campaign would not be a repeat of the exhausting ground wars fought by US troops in the past decade. The US announcement was praised by Baghdad, but Russia said unilateral action would be a blatant violation of international law.
Kerry heads to Ankara today for talks, after Turkey refused to allow its air bases to be used in the attacks on jihadists or to take part in combat operations.
Agencies/QNA
