Nouri al-Maliki gave his most unequivocal support yet to the Assad regime, and even hinted that its downfall could force Iraq into an Iranian-led alliance against the Arab world's Sunni states.
"The killing or removal of President Bashar in any way will explode into an internal struggle between two groups and this will have an impact on the region," said Mr Maliki, refering to predictions of region wide conflict between Sunni Muslims and the Shia sect. "It will end with civil war and this civil war will lead to alliances in the region. Because we are a country that suffered from the civil war of a sectarian background, we fear for the future of Syria and the whole region."
Although relations with Mr Assad, once a strong supporter of Saddam despite being a member of the Alawite Shia sect, were initially strained, his regime has collaborated with Baghdad to curb militant groups linked to al-Qaeda operating along the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Many in Mr Maliki's coalition fear that if Syria's Sunni majority were to come to power, it could revitalise Sunni militants in Iraq's Anbar province who fought a long and bloody insurgency in the aftermath of the US invasion and who may harbour secessionist intentions.
Mr Maliki has refused to align Iraq with a growing Arab consensus to ostracise the Syrian regime for its repression of the uprising against Mr Assad. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, December 04, 2011
