Saudi warns of civil war fuelled by hate in Iraq

Iraq is heading towards a civil war fuelled by hate with unexpected consequences, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal warned yesterday.

Al-Faisal also accused the Iraqi government of adopting a “sectarian ideology” and “marginalising” Sunni Muslims.

Speaking in the inauguration session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah, he said that the turmoil in Iraq ushers in a civil war with “unexpected consequences” which would affect the whole region.

Adding: “The Syrian crisis resulted in an atmosphere that led to spreading internal instability in Iraq. This was fed by the sectarian exclusion.”

The Ministerial Council of Saudi Arabia accused the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki of adopting a policy of “exclusion” against Sunnis.

Al-Faisal said Al-Maliki’s policy had “disintegrated the components of the Iraqi nation and paved the way ahead for anyone who is planning to undermine the country’s security, stability, national unity and Arabic affiliation.”

On Tuesday, Al-Maliki accused Saudi Arabia of offering material support to “terrorist organisations”, considering this as a “kind of support for terrorism”.