Aust ready to airlift besieged Iraqis
Australia could join the US in rescuing thousands of endangered civilians in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
Australia has offered to participate in airdrops of food and water to Iraqis hiding from the Sunni extremist militants on Mount Sinjar and now stands ready to deploy two aircraft based in the Middle East for any airlift mission.
“We would expect to join that humanitarian airlift should it be needed sometime later this week,” Mr Abbott told ABC radio today.
Abbott, who is in the Netherlands, will later this week fly to London for talks with the British government and officials about counter-terrorism operations and the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.
The Prime Minister has not recently spoken personally with US President Barack Obama about Australia’s involvement but noted talks about the situation in Syria and Iraq were conducted during his June visit to the US.
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Abbott described the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIL or ISIS, as a terrorist army that posed “extraordinary” problems the Middle East and the wider world.
He also pointed to new pictures of an Australian child holding up the decapitated head of a slain Syrian soldier published in Australian papers today as another example of the “hideous atrocities” such groups were capable of.
“We see more and more evidence of just how barbaric this particular entity is,” he said.
Meanwhile, at least 20,000 of the civilians beseiged on Mount Sinjar have escaped to Syria, although more are believed to be still be trapped, AFP reports.
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Australia was also prepared to provide back-up to US forces on a military operation to defend the Iraqi city of Irbil from the ISIS onslaught, Defence Minister David Johnston said.
But Australia at this stage had not been asked to play a combat role.
“We are ready to assist in whatever way we can should we be asked to assist by the Americans and Iraqi government,” Senator Johnston told ABC radio.
“But we have some time to get anything into gear.”
The Defence Minister said the threat posed by the terrorist group was serious and warned further action could become necessary.
“This could turn very, very nasty in a short space of time.
“I don’t think right-minded countries can just sit back and watch atrocities unfold … without taking some action.”
