United Nations: The “grave” situation in Iraq needs to be dealt with militarily as well as politically, a top UN official has said. The ISIL advance on Baghdad appears to be “stalled”, given the saturation of Iraqi Army forces in the area, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative in Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said in his briefing to journalists via video from Baghdad.
“For anyone to attempt to take over Baghdad would be extremely difficult,” he said.
A military solution alone “would not be possible,” he said, adding that the “grave” situation in Iraq requires a solution based on military, political and social processes that will address the concerns of all communities.
Elsewhere, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with top Sunni state allies — Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE — to consider how to confront the growing turmoil that has been spawned by a Sunni ISIL.
