Iraq blames Saudi Arabia for 'promoting genocide' by backing Sunni militants
17 June 2014, 18:08 -- Iraq's Shi'ite-led cabinet blamed Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for promoting 'genocide' in Iraq by backing Sunni militants, in a statement which could exacerbate the sectarian polarization in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia should be held responsible for militant financing and crimes committed by insurgent groups in Iraq, the Baghdad government charged on Tuesday.
Comments from Riyadh indicates it is 'siding with terrorism', the cabinet said in a statement issued by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office. 'We strongly condemn this stance,' the statement read.
'We hold it (Saudi Arabia) responsible for what these groups are receiving in terms of financial and moral support.'
It continued: 'The Saudi government should be held responsible for the dangerous crimes committed by these terrorist groups.'
The statement came just days after Saudi Arabia and Qatar blamed 'sectarian' policies by Iraq's Shiite-led government against the Sunni Arab minority for the unrest that has swept the country, AFP reports.
The unrest 'could not have taken place if it was not for the sectarian and exclusionary policies implemented in Iraq over the past years that threatened its stability and sovereignty,' the Saudi government said in a statement.
In March, Maliki accused both Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supporting terrorism in Iraq.
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