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The recent wave of violence across Iraq has been unprecedented even for a country like Iraq which in recent years has been seriously plagued by violence. It has been so deadly that many residents have fled their homes and moved to other areas. And the culprits,... ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The faction of this group in Syria is called ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
On Tuesday, ISIS overran Iraq's second largest city Mosul and as they advanced, security forces fled, leaving civilians to the mercy of the insurgents, some even dropping their weapons as they fled. Militants seized the airport, TV stations, governor's office and other important buildings. They now control almost all of the city and many other parts of Iraq. And of course, that wasn't the only part of the country they seized on Tuesday, other parts closer to the national capital Baghdad were also stormed. This comes as a serious blow to shia Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki who has been under serious pressure to contain the violence in Iraq in recent years. If anything, the violence is only getting worse.
All this violence has its origin, the sectarian divide of sunni and shia in Iraq. The sunni led government, has highly neglected and ignored the sunni parts of the country both economically and politically. In fact, a large quantity of Iraq's massive oil reserves are found in sunni areas, yet they do not see much of the benefits. This has led to huge resistance against the shia led government. It has also led to empathy from gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who seek to counter the influence of Iran on the Iraqi government. Most analysts say that a large part of funding for ISIS comes from these states.
The civil war in Syria also greatly enhanced the mission of ISIS. They are the most violent rebel group in Syria. This latest wave of violence in Iraq is more of a spillover of the violence in Syria. They have carried out some of the most brutal acts of violence in Syria. They are so violent that even Al-QAEDA has cut off ties with them. ISIS has re-awakened fears that Iraq could be split along sectarian lines into Sunni, Shia and Kurdish areas. This wave of violence has also raised serious questions over the Iraqi Prime Minister's ability to hold on to the country.
Here's my perspective on this group^and its activities. Agroup that is too violent and extreme even for Al-Qaeda is certainly one to be feared, and considering the fact that they have a huge and strong presence in Syria, they really need to be dealt with. The question is, How? How do you deal with such a group? Considering the gains Assad of Syria has made in his fight against the rebels, isn't it time for the West to work with him to end the spillover on neighbouring nations? In my opinion, this is one situation where international assistance is badly needed.
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