Former prime minister: Iraq is in a 'civil war'
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11906068/
* Allawi warns conflict could spread through Mideast, into Europe and U.S.
LONDON - Iraq is in a state of civil war and is nearing the point
of no return when the country's sectarian violence will spill over
throughout the Middle East, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad
Allawi said on Sunday.
Three years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein,
Iraq is in turmoil with a raging insurgency and a surge in sectarian
bloodletting between Sunni Arabs and majority Shiite Muslims.
"It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day
as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more.
If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," he told
the British Broadcasting Corp.
'In the middle of a crisis'
There are 133,000 U.S. troops and 8,000 British soldiers in Iraq
trying to maintain security and train local security forces to keep a
lid on the violence. Both countries reject claims Iraq has already
slid into civil war.
"Iraq is in the middle of a crisis. Maybe we have not reached the
point of no return yet. But we are moving towards this point. We
are in a terrible civil conflict now," Allawi said.
He said that if Iraq were to crumble, sectarian violence would
spread throughout the Middle East with Europe and the United
States also feeling the impact.
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