Iraq may face catastrophic consequences if UK, US withdraw troops: Minister

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has cautioned that the country would face catastrophic consequences if the UK and the US decide to prematurely withdraw their troops from Iraq.

London, Aug 30 : Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has cautioned that the country would face catastrophic consequences if the UK and the US decide to prematurely withdraw their troops from Iraq.

Criticising Britain's recent "lack of engagement" in the southern city of Basra, Zebari said the UK is a great power that must not "run away" from its responsibilities in Iraq.

In an interview to The Times, the Minister predicted a 'bloodbath as the country breaks up, neighbours sucked into a regional conflict, an oil crisis and a new terrorist haven far deadlier than Afghanistan' in the absence of the western troops.

"I am worried, absolutely worried," Zebari said as British troops prepared to withdraw from central Basra and the US Congress debated whether Iraq - where 3,600 American soldiers have met their end over the past four years - should be written off as a lost cause, reported the Times Online.

"The stakes are very, very high for us as Iraqis, for the US and Britain, and for stability and security in the region," said 54-year-old Zebari, who has been the Foreign Minister since the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Commenting on this week's expected withdrawal of 600 British troops from the beleaguered Basra Palace to join 5,000 compatriots at their airport base outside the city, he termed it as a symbolic move,

However, Zebari added that it could be regarded in the Arab world as a defeat.

ANI