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| France Plans Arms Shipments to Kurdish Forces in Iraq | France Plans Arms Shipments to Kurdish Forces in Iraq |
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| PARIS — Breaking ranks with other European countries, France announced on Wednesday that it would send arms to the embattled Kurdish authorities fighting Sunni militants who have encircled members of the Yazidi religious minority on a remote mountaintop in northern Iraq. | PARIS — Breaking ranks with other European countries, France announced on Wednesday that it would send arms to the embattled Kurdish authorities fighting Sunni militants who have encircled members of the Yazidi religious minority on a remote mountaintop in northern Iraq. |
| “In order to respond to the urgent needs expressed by the Kurdistan regional authorities, the president has decided, in agreement with Baghdad, to deliver arms in the coming hours,” President François Hollande said in a statement from his office. | “In order to respond to the urgent needs expressed by the Kurdistan regional authorities, the president has decided, in agreement with Baghdad, to deliver arms in the coming hours,” President François Hollande said in a statement from his office. |
| The population of Iraqi Kurdistan was facing a “catastrophic situation,” the statement said, but it did not go into precise detail about the nature of the weaponry to be delivered. | The population of Iraqi Kurdistan was facing a “catastrophic situation,” the statement said, but it did not go into precise detail about the nature of the weaponry to be delivered. |
| Kurdish pesh merga fighters are facing militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, who have shown off an array of captured weaponry, including tanks, after their push across the border from Syria. They have taken over swaths of territory in Iraq, pressing south toward Baghdad and east toward the Kurdish region of Iraq. | |
| President Hollande’s readiness to position himself alongside the United States in offering military support recalled his actions last year when he joined with President Obama in threatening Syria with airstrikes after the use of chemical weapons in the civil war there. The strikes never happened after the United States and Russia brokered a deal to dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons program, but France nonetheless seemed to supplant Britain as America’s main European ally in Middle East military ventures. | |
| In a reminder of those actions, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a United Nations watchdog, said on Wednesday that 581 tons of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of the nerve gas sarin had been destroyed aboard the Cape Ray, a specially-equipped United States vessel in the Mediterranean, after being removed from Syria earlier this year. | |
| Mr. Hollande also noted his support for Iraq’s designated new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, and called for the quick establishment of a unity government capable of repelling advances by ISIS fighters. Even as the plight of the Yazidis has grabbed global attention, the political elite in Baghdad has been locked in a stalemate over demands for the replacement of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. | Mr. Hollande also noted his support for Iraq’s designated new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, and called for the quick establishment of a unity government capable of repelling advances by ISIS fighters. Even as the plight of the Yazidis has grabbed global attention, the political elite in Baghdad has been locked in a stalemate over demands for the replacement of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. |
| The French announcement came a day after the European Union failed to establish a common policy among its 28 members concerning arms supplies, but concluded that individual states could, in agreement with Baghdad, send weapons to the pesh merga forces. | |
| The French move also coincided with what seemed to be the gathering pace of American efforts to evacuate thousands of Yazidi people trapped on Mount Sinjar, possibly by establishing a humanitarian corridor. The mountainous area lies in inhospitable terrain close to the border with Syria. | |
| In Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said on Wednesday that she was ready to hold a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers this week or next week to discuss events in Iraq, as well as the crises in Ukraine and Gaza. France and Italy had been pressing for the gathering, but it was not immediately clear when, or if, it would be held. | In Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said on Wednesday that she was ready to hold a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers this week or next week to discuss events in Iraq, as well as the crises in Ukraine and Gaza. France and Italy had been pressing for the gathering, but it was not immediately clear when, or if, it would be held. |
| In London, Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a holiday in Portugal on Wednesday to return home as the British authorities faced a mounting drumbeat of calls for stronger military action in northern Iraq. | In London, Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a holiday in Portugal on Wednesday to return home as the British authorities faced a mounting drumbeat of calls for stronger military action in northern Iraq. |
| Earlier, Britain announced plans to send a small number of Chinook helicopters and transport military equipment supplied by other countries to Kurdish fighters in the American-led campaign against Sunni militants, officials said. | |
| But the government in London continued to insist that it was focused on humanitarian relief efforts, notably to get water and other supplies to the Yazidis besieged on the arid, baking heights of Mount Sinjar, rather than on offering direct military involvement. | But the government in London continued to insist that it was focused on humanitarian relief efforts, notably to get water and other supplies to the Yazidis besieged on the arid, baking heights of Mount Sinjar, rather than on offering direct military involvement. |
| In recent days, Britain has slowly stepped up its relief effort, sending three Tornado warplanes on surveillance missions to support airdrops by C-130 military cargo planes. | In recent days, Britain has slowly stepped up its relief effort, sending three Tornado warplanes on surveillance missions to support airdrops by C-130 military cargo planes. |
| “Our focus remains the humanitarian situation, particularly those trapped on Mount Sinjar,” Mr. Cameron’s office said in a statement late on Tuesday. “Three U.K. aid drops have now taken place, with two C-130s delivering 3,180 reusable water containers, filled with a total of 15,900 liters of clean water, and 816 solar lanterns overnight.” | “Our focus remains the humanitarian situation, particularly those trapped on Mount Sinjar,” Mr. Cameron’s office said in a statement late on Tuesday. “Three U.K. aid drops have now taken place, with two C-130s delivering 3,180 reusable water containers, filled with a total of 15,900 liters of clean water, and 816 solar lanterns overnight.” |
| “We will continue with these deliveries,” the statement added. “And, as part of our efforts to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Iraq, we are sending a small number of Chinook helicopters to the region for use if we decide we need further humanitarian relief options.” | “We will continue with these deliveries,” the statement added. “And, as part of our efforts to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Iraq, we are sending a small number of Chinook helicopters to the region for use if we decide we need further humanitarian relief options.” |
| Chinooks are twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopters often used to transport troops and equipment. | Chinooks are twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopters often used to transport troops and equipment. |
| France was also planning a second shipment of 20 tons of humanitarian aid, including medicine, tents and water treatment equipment, that was expected to arrive Wednesday in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Foreign Ministry in Paris said. | |
| The shipment would help 50,000 people and more aid would be sent in coming days “to aid populations in serious danger,” The Associated Press reported. | The shipment would help 50,000 people and more aid would be sent in coming days “to aid populations in serious danger,” The Associated Press reported. |
| The United States has taken the lead in providing support to the Kurdish region, with the Pentagon sending an additional 130 military advisers to northern Iraq to help plan the evacuation of thousands of Yazidis. | The United States has taken the lead in providing support to the Kurdish region, with the Pentagon sending an additional 130 military advisers to northern Iraq to help plan the evacuation of thousands of Yazidis. |
| The deployment brought the number of American military personnel in Iraq to more than 1,000, less than three years after the last combat troops left the country. A senior administration official said that the military was drawing up plans for consideration by President Obama that could include American ground troops in what is likely to be an international effort to rescue the refugees. | |
| Around 900 American military advisers and security personnel were already in Iraq working with Iraqi security forces and protecting American personnel at the embassy in Baghdad and at other sites. | Around 900 American military advisers and security personnel were already in Iraq working with Iraqi security forces and protecting American personnel at the embassy in Baghdad and at other sites. |
| Britain’s limited involvement has drawn complaints from high-profile former military commanders that the country, which played a central role in enforcing a no-fly zone that shielded the Kurds in the Saddam Hussein era, should do more now that Kurds are threatened by ISIS. | Britain’s limited involvement has drawn complaints from high-profile former military commanders that the country, which played a central role in enforcing a no-fly zone that shielded the Kurds in the Saddam Hussein era, should do more now that Kurds are threatened by ISIS. |
| Col. Tim Collins of the British Army, who gained prominence in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said the British aid effort was a “pebble in the ocean” compared to what was needed, saying the government had “left for lunch” while politicians shied from a moral obligation to help arm and train the Kurdish pesh merga forces. | Col. Tim Collins of the British Army, who gained prominence in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said the British aid effort was a “pebble in the ocean” compared to what was needed, saying the government had “left for lunch” while politicians shied from a moral obligation to help arm and train the Kurdish pesh merga forces. |
| “We should also be taking part in air strikes and urging our coalition partners including Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to take part,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. | “We should also be taking part in air strikes and urging our coalition partners including Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to take part,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. |
| The newspaper also quoted Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the British Army during the Iraq invasion, as saying: “Given our history over recent years in Iraq, we have a moral duty to do what we can on humanitarian grounds. I would have no difficulty at all in saying that we should be alongside the United States and up the British ante to the use of air power, on humanitarian grounds.” | The newspaper also quoted Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the British Army during the Iraq invasion, as saying: “Given our history over recent years in Iraq, we have a moral duty to do what we can on humanitarian grounds. I would have no difficulty at all in saying that we should be alongside the United States and up the British ante to the use of air power, on humanitarian grounds.” |
| Even within the Anglican Church, there were voices raising the possibility of a stronger military response. | Even within the Anglican Church, there were voices raising the possibility of a stronger military response. |
| The Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a chaplain in Parliament, said in a television interview: “When you hear of such tragedy unfolding before your very eyes, you cannot help but see this is genocide. And I just think that Britain, the European Union, the world community, we have got to respond.” | The Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a chaplain in Parliament, said in a television interview: “When you hear of such tragedy unfolding before your very eyes, you cannot help but see this is genocide. And I just think that Britain, the European Union, the world community, we have got to respond.” |
| She added: “Maybe we need to go to the extent of military action, I don’t know. But we need to somehow go to the assistance of these people.” | She added: “Maybe we need to go to the extent of military action, I don’t know. But we need to somehow go to the assistance of these people.” |
| Some lawmakers have also called for Parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to debate the possibility of a broad international campaign against the Sunni militants. | Some lawmakers have also called for Parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to debate the possibility of a broad international campaign against the Sunni militants. |