Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says the US-led invasion of Iraq was a mistake and helped create the ISIL terrorist group.
Annan made the remarks on Sunday during a speech at the 51st Munich Security Conference in southern Germany.
“I was against this invasion and my fears have been founded. The break-up of the Iraqi forces poured hundreds if not thousands of disgruntled soldiers and police officers onto the streets,” said Annan.
The former UN chief added that some of these former members of the security forces later joined the ISIL.
In addition, Annan said since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraq has been unstable, which has proved to be the perfect breeding ground for would-be terrorists.
Furthermore, Annan called for the halt of military and financial assistance to the militants, saying the ISIL “is destroying the diversity and pluralism in the Middle East.”
The ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014 after taking parts of neighboring Syria. The heavily-armed militants took control of Mosul in Iraq before sweeping through parts of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland.
The terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against all Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
This is while Syria has been battling militant groups, including the ISIL, since a deadly conflict began in the country in March 2011.
Over 200,000 people have been killed in the crisis in Syria over the past nearly four years, according to reports. Some 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced due to the ongoing Syrian crisis, according to the UN.
