Iraq and Political Divisions

Canadian special forces: Sajjan, attending meetings in Stuttgart, Germany, said ethnic and political divisions in Iraq are top of mind not only for western leaders, but for troops on the ground — including Canadian special forces operators advising Iraqi fighters. "We're working very closely right down to the lowest level to make sure the political situation is not heated up," Sajjan said during a conference call Wednesday, according to Guelph Mercury. Almost all of the armed groups in Iraq have sponsors in one form or another, including the Iran-backed Shiite militia; Sunni local defence forces trained by Turkey; and Kurdish fighters whom Americans and Canadians are backing. Western nations fear Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will be unable to keep sectarian rivals and Kurdish nationalists from turning on each other once Mosul is free from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. U.S. Secretary of Defence Ash Carter was more blunt in a statement released shortly after Wednesday meeting. "We called on all of Iraq political leaders to commit themselves to the legal and peaceful reconciliation of political differences in order to confront the nation challenges and to remain united against the common enemy of ISIL/Daesh," he said, using two of the militant group many aliases. The perception hasn't gotten much better with the use of Iran-backed Shiite militias to retake other cities overrun by the Islamic State, notably the city of Tikrit. The Abadi government has been blamed for giving rising to ISIL, and the capture of Mosul in 2014, through its deliberate alienation of Iraq Sunni population. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.