Iraq in Crisis: Militant Advance Sparks Mass Displacement
Iraq is on the brink of disintegration as Sunni militants seize more towns and now set their sights on the capital Baghdad.
Iraq is on the brink of disintegration as Sunni militants seize more towns and now set their sights on the capital Baghdad.
“Democracy Now!” reports Thursday:
In the past few days, al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, as well as Tikrit and Dhuluiya. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurds have seized control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk. The Sunni militants now control a territory that stretches from the eastern edge of Aleppo, Syria, to Fallujah in western Iraq and now the northern city of Mosul. Their advance has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, displacing some 500,000 people in Mosul alone. Mosul fell in part because U.S.-trained Iraqi forces abandoned their posts. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly urged the U.S. to carry out airstrikes in recent months, but the Obama administration has declined the request so far.
“Democracy Now!” hears from two guests: Ned Parker, Reuters bureau chief in Baghdad, and Mohammed al Dulaimy, an Iraqi journalist with McClatchy Newspapers who reported from Iraq for years and is now seeking U.S. asylum out of fear for his safety if he returns. For safety reasons, Dulaimy has maintained a low profile for years. This is his first TV interview in some time.
‘Democracy Now!’:
— Adapted from “Democracy Now!” by Alexander Reed Kelly.
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