Arab Sunnis expect little change in post-Maliki Iraq

Iraqis and foreign brokers alike breathed a sigh of relief Friday after Nuri al-Maliki stepped aside, which many saw as vital to tackling a spiralling military and humanitarian crisis.

Support for Maliki's designated replacement, Haidar al-Abadi, has poured in from sources as diverse as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The decision by Maliki, 64, to turn the page on eight years in power was welcomed across much of Iraq but some said little will change.

"Maliki stepping down is a positive move to end the crisis," said Baghdad resident Salah Abu al-Qassem.

But the 38-year-old added that Abadi and Maliki are "both from same school".

"I do not believe that changing the government will be a solution for Iraq," said Mohammed Majid, 53, a resident of the city of Samarra, north of the capital.

"We the Sunnis have been marginalised for 10 years by the Dawa party," he said.

Maliki, who rose from anonymous exile to become a powerful and feared ruler, said late Thursday he was stepping aside to "facilitate the progress of the political process and the formation of the new government".

International welcome

"Today, Iraqis took another major step forward in uniting their country," US National Security Advisor Susan Rice said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the swift formation of "an inclusive, broad-based government ready to immediately tackle these pressing issues".

European Union foreign ministers in Brussels welcomed the decision by some member states to arm the Kurds, who are currently leading the effort on the ground against the Islamic State (IS).

"Europeans must not limit themselves to praising the courageous fight of the Kurdish security forces," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

IS forces launched a major offensive on June 9, but their advance within miles of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan last week triggered US air strikes and broad foreign support for the Kurds.

Maliki's critics say he bears some of the responsibility for the crisis that brought the country to the brink of breakup for pushing sectarian policies that have marginalised and radicalised the Sunni Arab community.

UN Council targets IS militants in Iraq, Syria

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at weakening Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria with measures to choke off funding and the flow of foreign fighters.

The British-drafted measure also placed six leaders -- from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other nations -- on the Al-Qaeda sanctions list, which provides for a travel ban and assets freeze.

The six include senior Al-Qaeda leaders who have provided financing to the Al-Nusra Front in Syria and Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, the spokesman for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now renamed Islamic State (IS).

The resolution won the backing of all 15 members of the council, including Russia..

The resolution demands that Islamist State (IS) fighters in Iraq and Syria, rebels from the Al-Nusra Front in Syria and other Al-Qaeda-linked groups "disarm and disband with immediate effect."

It "calls on all member states to take national measures to suppress the flow of foreign terrorist fighters" to the extremist groups and threatens to slap sanctions on those involved in recruitment.

It also warns governments and entities that trade with the militants, who now control oil fields and other potentially cash-generating infrastructure, "could constitute financial support" that may lead to sanctions.

Describing the militants as a threat to international peace and security, the council has placed the resolution under chapter VII of the UN charter, which means the measures could be enforced by military force or economic sanctions.