WASHINGTON, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama said the United States was ready to launch new airstrikes at Islamic State’s military targets in northwestern Iraq if the militant group threatened the safety of Yazidi refugees stranded on Mount Sinjar, the White House said on Tuesday.
“Our aircraft remain in position to strike any terrorist forces around the mountain who threaten the safety of these families,” Obama said in a statement, released on Tuesday.
The US leader added America had but “limited military objectives” for its operations in Iraq, and those included “protecting American citizens, providing advice and assistance to Iraqi forces as they battle these terrorists and joining with international progress to provide humanitarian aid.”
Barack Obama earlier authorized humanitarian aid to Yazidi Kurds, one of the minority groups in Iraq repressed by insurgents from the Islamic State group (IS, also known as ISIL). On Thursday, US authorities also gave the green light to a series of airstrikes, targeting the jihadists’ positions near the Kurdish capital city of Arbil.
“Kurdish forces on the ground continue to defend their city, and we’ve stepped up military advice and assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they wage the fight against ISIL,” the US president said.
The United States continues to deliver humanitarian aid to Yazidi men, women and children who are said to be without food or water. According to the White House, some “have begun to escape their perch on that mountain.”
But Obama emphasized that “there is no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq. The only lasting solution is for Iraqis to come together and form an inclusive government, one that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis and one that can unify the country’s fight against ISIL.”
He called the Monday nomination of Iraq’s deputy parliamentary speaker Haider Abadi as Prime Minister-designate “a promising step" forward a non-military solution to the Iraqi crisis.
“It is an important step towards forming a new government that can unite Iraq’s different communities,” Obama said, adding Vice-President Joe Biden and he earlier called Dr. Abadi to congratulate him and “to urge him to form a new cabinet as quickly as possible, one that’s inclusive for all Iraqis and one that represents all Iraqis.”
“The United States stands ready to support a government that addresses the needs and grievances of all Iraqi people. We are also ready to work with other countries in the region to deal with the humanitarian crisis and terrorism challenge in Iraq. Mobilizing that support will be easier once this new government is in place,” the US president noted.
On Monday, Iraq’s President Fuad Masum asked Abadi to set up a new government, despite opposition from incumbent Iraqi leader Nouri Maliki.
Iraq is currently facing a serious threat from the Sunni extremist group Islamic State (IS). In early June IS militants seized large parts of the northern Iraq territories and later announced the establishment of a caliphate on the occupied land.
