Brahimi says world neglect of Syria behind Iraq troubles
"It is a well known rule: a conflict of this kind [in Syria] cannot stay confined within the borders of one country," Brahimi told AFP, while stressing that the international community's inaction on Syria had precipitated the crisis in Iraq.
The international community "unfortunately neglected the Syrian problem and did not help to resolve it. This is the result," said Brahimi, who resigned from his post as UN-Arab League representative to Syria in May.
A loose alliance of Sunni forces, lead by extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has launched a lightning offensive this week, taking large swarths of western Iraq. ISIL-led forces advanced to within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of Baghdad, bringing Iraq's security forces to the brink of collapse.
His comments follow on from warnings issued earlier in the week that Syria was fast becoming "another Somalia" ruled by warlords and that the entire region may "blow up" if a political solution is not found quichly.
"Unless there is a real, sustained effort to work out a political solution, there is a serious risk that the entire region will blow up. The conflict is not going to stay inside Syria," Brahimi said.
Brahimi, the former special representative on Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League, resigned in frustration last month after making little progress towards ending the brutal civil war, now in its fourth year. Brahimi, who previously served as a UN special representative for Iraq, Afghanistan and South Africa, oversaw two rounds of peace talks between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the fractured political opposition-in-exile. But during two years in the post, he was unable to stop the bloodshed in a conflict that has killed more than 162,000 people and created millions of refugees.
He has long been a stern critic of ISIL and has repeatedly stressed that the group posed a serioud threat to not only Syria and the region but the West as well.
He said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - a rebel group known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers - "is active in both Syria and Iraq already, and Jordan is really struggling to continue resisting. Even Turkey. According to a senior Iraqi official, ISIS has carried out 100 operations in Syria and 1,000 operations in Iraq in just three months."
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