France's Hollande visits Iraq, says Islamic State is common enemy

Record ID: 162913

  • Title: France's Hollande visits Iraq, says Islamic State is common enemy
  • Date: 2nd January 2017
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (JANUARY 2, 2017) (REUTERS FOR AGENCY POOL) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, STEPPING OUT OF CAR / HOLLANDE SHAKING HANDS WITH IRAQI PRESIDENT, FUAD MASUM VARIOUS OF MEETING BETWEEN HOLLANDE AND MASUM HOLLANDE AND MASUM ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE HOLLANDE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IRAQI PRESIDENT, FUAD MASUM, SAYING: "France continues extending support to Iraq at all levels, and mainly at military and humanitarian levels. After the elimination of Daesh (Arabic acronym for Islamic State) in Iraq, France and other friendly countries will play a great role in the reconstruction of the country.'' MASUM AND HOLLANDE AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "We have a common enemy: it's terrorism, it's Daesh, it's fundamentalism. This enemy, we need to hunt it down in places where it exists - in Iraq, in Syria. But also we need to understand the links which exist between these terrorist groups and a certain number of individuals who are manipulated and who organise attacks in several countries." MASUM LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "We will also have to deal with the issue of returning foreign fighters, those who have come from a number of countries, and especially European countries, from France, to take part in a fight that is however not theirs, but who engage in acts of violence, who have brought their families and sometimes very young children. We must make sure these individuals can be prevented from committing further harm, and arrested if they come back. And then, we must be able to commit to deradicalisation, in particular for the children." NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING
  • Embargoed: 17th January 2017 10:28
  • Keywords: Hollande Iraq France Fuad Masum foreign fighters Baghdad Islamic State
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015XDZY2V
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:French President Francois Hollande flew into Iraq on Monday (January 2) on a one-day visit to the country where he met with Iraqi president Fuad Masum in Baghdad.
    "France continues extending support to Iraq at all levels, and mainly at military and humanitarian levels. After the elimination of Daesh in Iraq, France and other friendly countries will play a great role in the reconstruction of the country," Masum told a news conference, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
    France's Hollande, whose country has faced a series of militant attacks in the past two years, said the two nations shared a common enemy.
    "We have a common enemy: it's terrorism, it's Daesh, it's fundamentalism. This enemy, we need to hunt it down in places where it exists - in Iraq, in Syria. But also we need to understand the links which exist between these terrorist groups and a certain number of individuals who are manipulated and who organise attacks in several countries," he said.
    The outgoing Socialist president said the return of foreign fighters was also a key issue.
    "We must make sure these individuals can be prevented from committing further harm, and arrested if they come back. And then, we must be able to commit to deradicalisation, in particular for the children," Hollande said.
    He will travel later on Monday to the Kurdish city of Erbil, where France will deliver some 38 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including medicine, officials said.
    Islamic State attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint near the southern city of Najaf on Sunday (January 1), killing seven policemen as government forces in the north made more gains against the militants in Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country.
    The recapture of Mosul would probably spell the end for the group's self-styled caliphate in the areas it seized in 2014, but the militants would still be capable of fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq, and plotting or inspiring attacks on the West.
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