The United Arab Emirates voiced readiness Wednesday to back world efforts to confront the threat from jihadists, amid calls by Western powers for an international fight against the Islamic State.
The UAE affirms « its solidarity with regional and international efforts against terrorist threats… and its readiness to take needed measures to confront this phenomenon in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2170, » its foreign ministry said.
The resolution, passed last month, seeks to cut funds and the flow of foreign fighters both to the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front.
The UAE said it « stands against terrorist threats facing our region and the world, especially with the dangerous human rights violations by terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria and other Arab and Muslim countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Afghanistan suffering from… movements such as IS, Al-Nusra, and Al-Qaeda. »
Last month, Washington confirmed reports that UAE warplanes had twice bombed Islamist militias in Libya.
Abu Dhabi « strongly condemns the continuing terrorist and criminal acts by extremist groups, especially the so-called IS… that undermine regional and international stability, » said the statement carried by the official WAM news agency.
US President Barack Obama called Wednesday for an international front against jihadists in Iraq and Syria after they beheaded a second American reporter Steven Sotloff.
Britain and France meanwhile weighed military action.
The Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group, has gained prominence in recent months, declaring an Islamic « caliphate » in regions under its control in Iraq and Syria.
