Baghdad: An official of Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan lashed out at Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki on Thursday, a day after he accused Kurdistan of lending assistance to militant Islamists trying to carve out a caliphate in the region.
“The man has been gripped by hysteria and has lost his balance as he does his best to justify his mistakes and blame others for his failure,” Kurdistan spokesperson Omid Sabah said.
On Wednesday, Al Maliki, a Shiite, said Kurdistan’s capital Arbil had turned into a springboard for operations pursued by insurgents of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) into Iraqi territory. He also vowed unspecified action against Kurdistan’s recent capture of several areas, which are at the centre of a dispute with Baghdad.
Denying that Kurdistan is sheltering militants, Sabah called Al Maliki a “dictator,” echoing other critics of the prime minister, who accuse him of monopolising power.
Al Maliki, who has been in office since 2006, faces stiff opposition as he bids for a third term.
“We tell you to apologise to the Iraqi people and give up your post because you have destroyed the country,” Sabah addressed Al Maliki in a statement quoted by independent Iraqi website Al Sumaria News.
Isil insurgents, believed to be backed by local Sunni militias, have seized large chunks of Iraq and Syria in recent weeks, highlighting the perilous state of the Iraqi security forces and forcing thousands of civilians to take refuge in Kurdistan.
Against the backdrop of Islamist-led insurgency, Kurdistan’s Peshmerga militia has taken control of several areas, which have been disputed between Kurdistan and Iraq’s central government for years.
Last week, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani asked the parliament to set a date for a referendum on Kurdistan’s independence, a move that has further strained ties with Baghdad.
Barzani has vowed not to withdraw Kurdish troops from disputed areas.
Iraq has suffered increasing violence during the last year, much of it blamed on the Isil group and aimed at security forces and Shiite civilians.
The Shiite-led government’s response, with security sweeps and mass arrests, has further alienated Iraq’s Sunni minority, from whom rebel groups draw their support.
