Nomination of new Iraq PM welcomed

CAIRO: Arab League chief Nabil Al-Arabi on Tuesday backed the nomination of new Iraqi Premier Haidar Al-Abadi, joining an international chorus of approval for the sidelining of outgoing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.
Arabi “welcomed Iraqi President Fuad Masum’s tasking of Haidar Al-Abadi to form a new government,” a statement said.
Al-Abadi is gaining widespread support from countries hoping political reconciliation will undercut militants, as Iran Tuesday appeared to further dash Nuri Al-Maliki’s hopes of clinging to power.
Washington urged Al-Abadi to rapidly form a broad-based government able to unite Iraqis in the fight against militants who have overrun swathes of the country.
The United States, and other countries, said they were working to deliver much-needed arms to the Kurds, who are fighting the Islamic State (IS) on several fronts.
Abadi came from behind in a protracted and acrimonious race to become Iraq’s new premier when President Fuad Masum Monday accepted his nomination and tasked him with forming a government.
He has 30 days to build a team which will face the daunting task of defusing sectarian tensions and, in the words of US President Barack Obama, convincing the Sunni Arab minority that IS “is not the only game in town.”
In a signal that a key ally of Maliki’s was now supporting his rival Abadi, Iran on Tuesday said it backed the legal process which led to him being replaced.
Also on Tuesday, UN rights monitors called for the global community to take urgent action to avoid a potential genocide against the Yazidi community in Iraq.
Thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority are trapped on a mountain in northwestern Iraq with little food or water after IS overran the region.