Secretary Kerry and I have been
discussing the extremely serious situation in Iraq. We noted of course that
fighting continues, but their attacks have thankfully slowed and in the UK we
think our focus should now be on three objectives.
First of all, to stabilise the
situation. This is primarily the responsibility of the Iraqi Security Forces
working in cooperation with their civil authorities, including the Kurdistan
Regional Government.
Second, for Iraq’s
leadership to come together in a united response to this brutal aggression
against their country. That requires their leaders to find ways immediately to
put aside their differences, however strongly felt, and act together against
the terrorism which threatens them all.
Third, the half a million or
more displaced people in the north who have been forced to flee Mosul and the
surrounding areas need urgent support, so that the humanitarian situation does
not deteriorate further.
In the UK we are not planning a
British military intervention. But we are looking urgently at other ways to
help, for example help with counter-terrorist expertise. Work is under way on
that now and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies
in particular.
A British team of emergency aid
experts from DFID arrived in Iraq early this morning and are looking urgently
at what the UK might do to help on that front.
We will also continue to work
urgently within the UN Security Council to help concert the wider international
response. The UN Special Representative for Iraq was clear to the Security
Council yesterday about the urgency of both the humanitarian crisis and the
need for Iraq’s politicians to address the immediate
challenge.
Clearly ISIL represents a
regional challenge. We are thinking through very carefully the implications of
that. And this attack shows the importance of a strong stand against the
extremists, and that’s why we’re giving our backing to moderate
groups in Syria who are taking them on.