Iraqi opposition, tribes launch new coalition from Amman

AMMAN — Iraqi tribes and Sunni opposition groups formed on Wednesday their first unified coalition from Amman, calling on the international community to boycott the Nouri Al Maliki government.

In a so-called “Amman conference to save Iraq”, some 200 Iraqi tribal leaders, Baathists, Islamists and activists gathered to form the Iraqi opposition’s first unified coalition.

In its first statement, the Iraqi Sunni opposition called on the international community to boycott the Maliki government and officially recognise rebel forces as a legitimate resistance group.

“We call on the international community to cut ties with the Maliki government, which is killing its own citizens and to support the Iraqi revolution to restore a united Iraq,” Ahmed Dabashi, head of the Islamic Army revolutionary group in Iraq and conference co-organiser, said at the closing of the summit.

The yet-to-be-named opposition coalition comprises up to 90 per cent of tribal and rebel groups within Iraq, yet excludes the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which was not invited to the conference.

The opposition alliance called for the repeal of the country’s controversial anti-terrorism law, release of political prisoners and the introduction of constitutional amendments to bring an end to what they described as “sectarian governments”.

Also during the conference, opposition figures agreed to unite all rebel forces under the leadership of former Saddam-era military commanders, under the newly minted Revolutionary National Iraq Army.

“Our most important achievement in this conference was reaching an agreement from all sides to unite all fighters under the banner of the Iraq army and experienced generals,” said Ahmed Al Tikriti, head of the National Iraqi Army’s external relations division.

In its closing session, organisers agreed to hold a wider opposition “national conference” in Amman next month gathering over 1,000 opposition and political figures from across Iraq.

In closed sessions, tribal leaders and opposition groups failed to reach a decision on the group’s future relations with ISIL, which is reportedly in control of a majority of territory captured by opposition forces.

According to sources, influential tribal leaders pushed for the opposition to maintain ties with ISIL, which has proven to have greater arms and monetary support than the Sunni opposition.