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Iraq crisis: Kerry in Irbil for talks as fighting rages Iraq crisis: Kerry urges unity to expel Isis rebels
(about 3 hours later)
The US secretary of state is in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil holding talks with Kurdish leaders as Sunni rebels continue their offensive. US Secretary of State John Kerry has told the BBC there must be regional unity to expel Sunni rebels from the Isis group who have taken large swathes of northern and western Iraq.
John Kerry's central aim is to assist the formation of a new, more inclusive Iraqi unity government. He said there was no military solution, stressing the need for a new Iraqi government that empowered people in communities where Isis had taken hold.
Mr Kerry said Iraq faced a moment of great urgency as its very existence was under threat. Mr Kerry has been talking to Kurdish leaders in the northern city of Irbil.
The Sunni rebels say they have fully captured the country's main oil refinery at Baiji, north of Baghdad. The rebels continue to advance, and are fighting to take a key oil refinery.
Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights team in Iraq has reported that at least 1,075 people have been killed in Iraq in June, most of them civilians. The insurgents, spearheaded by Islamists fighting under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), have overrun much of north and west Iraq, including the second-biggest city, Mosul.
Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights team in Iraq reported that at least 1,075 people were killed in Iraq so far in June, most of them civilians.
The UN said the figures, which include a number of verified summary executions, should be viewed as an absolute minimum.The UN said the figures, which include a number of verified summary executions, should be viewed as an absolute minimum.
'Falling apart' 'No military solution'
Mr Kerry's meetings with Kurdish leaders come as the Kurdish region's President Massoud Barzani strongly suggested that it would seek formal independence from the rest of Iraq, a move the US would regard as destabilising in the current circumstances. In an interview with the BBC's Kim Ghattas, Mr Kerry said: "Every country in the region will combine in order to take on and expel Isis because it is simply unacceptable to have a terrorist organisation grabbing territory and challenging the legitimacy of governments."
Can Kerry pull Iraq back from the brink?
Voices from northern Iraq: "The fighters are everywhere"
When asked about military action, Mr Kerry said the Kurdish leaders had agreed there was "no military solution".
He said: "There may be military action but there has to be a political solution that deals with empowering the people in the communities where Isis is today.
"Just a strike alone is not going to change the outcome - you need to have a full-fledged strategy... which is principally a political strategy."
Mr Kerry said he had come away from his two days of talks - in Baghdad and Irbil - appreciating a sense of urgency and commitment among Iraqis to tackle the crisis.
But he said: "Words are cheap. We know that. So it's actions that will matter."
Mr Kerry's meetings with Kurdish leaders came as the Kurdish region's President Massoud Barzani strongly suggested that it would seek formal independence from the rest of Iraq.
In a CNN interview, he said: "Iraq is obviously falling apart... The time is here for the Kurdistan people to determine their future and the decision of the people is what we are going to uphold."In a CNN interview, he said: "Iraq is obviously falling apart... The time is here for the Kurdistan people to determine their future and the decision of the people is what we are going to uphold."
Current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a member of Iraq's Shia Muslim majority, has been criticised for concentrating power among his mostly Shia allies and excluding other groups including Sunni and Kurdish communities. Mr Kerry told the BBC he did not regard the Kurdistan region as separate and stressed that the US believed a "united Iraq is a stronger Iraq".
But Mr Kerry says Mr Maliki and other leaders have committed themselves to the "essential " step of forming an inclusive unity government by the end of the month. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a member of Iraq's Shia Muslim majority, has been criticised for concentrating power among his mostly Shia allies and excluding other groups including Sunni and Kurdish communities.
Speaking in Irbil on Tuesday, Mr Kerry said: "The government formation challenge is the central challenge that we face.'' The US, which pulled out of Iraq in 2011 after eight years of occupation following the 2003 invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein, has already announced it is deploying some 300 military advisers to Iraq to help fight the insurgents.
He added that Kurdish forces had proved "really critical" in recent days in slowing the Isis advance and supporting Iraqi forces.
Air strikes
Insurgents, spearheaded by Islamists fighting under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), have overrun a swathe of territory in the north and west including the second-biggest city, Mosul.
They are bearing down on a vital dam near Haditha and have captured all border crossings to Syria and Jordan.
The Baiji refinery, in Salahuddin province, had been under siege for 10 days, with militant attacks repulsed several times. The complex supplies a third of Iraq's refined fuel and the battle has already led to petrol rationing.
A rebel spokesman said it would now be handed over to local tribes to administer, and that the advance towards Baghdad would continue.
A local journalist told the BBC that 160 Iraqi government soldiers who had been defending the refinery had agreed to lay down their weapons and leave after negotiations mediated by local tribal leaders.
However, an Iraqi military spokesman insisted that all rebel attempts to take control of the refinery had been foiled.
Later, the AFP news agency quoted officials as saying that Iraqi air strikes in multiple areas of the town of Baiji near the refinery that began early on Tuesday had killed at least 19 people.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Irbil, northern Iraq, says the capture of the refinery is essential if the rebels are to keep control of the areas they have conquered and to supply Mosul with energy.
He adds that there is growing concern in the Kurdish region about the rebel advance, not least because it now effectively shares a border with Isis.
Jim Muir, BBC News, IrbilJim Muir, BBC News, Irbil
It's been a really to-and-fro battle for Baiji. Now the rebels say it has finally been decided and they have taken over the whole complex. There are reports that they are now handing the refinery over to local tribes and technicians with the aim of getting fuel production going again. It has been disrupted for several days to huge effect. If true, the capture of the complex would enable the rebels to supply Mosul with energy, which is seen as vital to the viability of the region they are carving out. It's been a really to-and-fro battle for the Baiji refinery. The capture of the complex would enable the rebels to supply Mosul with energy, which is seen as vital to the viability of the region they are carving out.
Meanwhile, extremely concentrated political efforts are going on behind the scenes to get the politics in Baghdad right.Meanwhile, extremely concentrated political efforts are going on behind the scenes to get the politics in Baghdad right.
Only then would America wade in and start doing anything physical. There are urgent efforts to get parliament to meet on time on 1 July and to agree in advance who will be the new PM. Everybody I speak to says this will not be Nouri Maliki but one of about three other figures acceptable to Iran and America, which has a key role to play in trying to broker a deal.Only then would America wade in and start doing anything physical. There are urgent efforts to get parliament to meet on time on 1 July and to agree in advance who will be the new PM. Everybody I speak to says this will not be Nouri Maliki but one of about three other figures acceptable to Iran and America, which has a key role to play in trying to broker a deal.
Could Iraqi PM Maliki be forced out?Could Iraqi PM Maliki be forced out?
Who speaks for Iraqi Sunni Arabs?Who speaks for Iraqi Sunni Arabs?
Rebel gains alarm Iraq's neighboursRebel gains alarm Iraq's neighbours
The US, which pulled out of Iraq in 2011 after eight years of occupation following the 2003 invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein, has already announced it is deploying some 300 military advisers to Iraq to help in the fight against the insurgents. Air strikes
Neighbouring Iran says it opposes US intervention. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of "seeking an Iraq under its hegemony and ruled by its stooges". The rebels say they have now fully captured the country's main oil refinery at Baiji, north of Baghdad.
Isis has taken two key border crossings in Anbar province that link Iraq with Syria, pursuing its goal of forming a "caliphate" straddling both countries. However, Iraqi officials said there was still fighting at the site and that troops were holding off the insurgents.
Further south, Sunni tribes aligned with Isis control the Traybil border crossing with Jordan, in the far west of Anbar province, as well as several nearby towns. The refinery, in Salahuddin province, has been under siege for 10 days, with militant attacks repulsed several times. The complex supplies a third of Iraq's refined fuel and the battle has already led to petrol rationing.
Are you in Iraq? How have you been affected by the insurgency? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Iraq'. The AFP news agency quoted officials as saying that Iraqi air strikes near Baiji town on Tuesday had killed at least 19 people, with other air strikes on Husseibah in the west.
The rebels are said to be closing in on a vital dam near Haditha.
They have also taken key border crossings in Anbar province that link Iraq with Syria, pursuing their goal of forming a "caliphate" straddling both countries.
Further south, Sunni tribes aligned with Isis control the Traybil border crossing with Jordan, as well as several nearby towns.