Anti-Daesh global coalition members reaffirmed strong international will to degrade and ultimately defeat the terror group during a recent meeting in Paris.
“I emerged from this meeting confident that we will defeat them through our unity, our determination, and our commitment to create a future of opportunity and peace for people in Iraq, in Syria, and indeed in the entire region,” said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Ministerial Meeting of the Small Group to Counter Daesh, a group of representatives of 25 countries plus the United Nations and the European Union, met June 2 to coordinate anti-Daesh strategy.
More than 60 countries and international organizations participate in the global coalition to defeat Daesh.
The group issued a ministerial declaration reaffirming a multifaceted, long-term strategy against Daesh and unanimous support for an Iraqi government plan for the liberation of Anbar province.
“In Iraq right now, we have the right strategy: a combination of coalition airstrikes; training, equipping, assisting; and effective local partners,” Blinken said.
The deputy secretary said the struggle against Daesh must ultimately be won by the Iraqi people.
“We must therefore do all that we can as quickly as we can to help Iraq bring fully capable and inclusive national security forces that will operate professionally and under a unified chain of command,” Blinken said.
The ministerial declaration stressed the need to defeat Daesh beyond the military campaign, through disrupting access to funding, ending the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and addressing associated humanitarian crises.
“We’re also doing all that we can to aid the region’s victims of violence, who include millions of refugees and displaced persons from both Syria and Iraq,” Blinken said.
The United States has provided nearly $3.7 billion in humanitarian aid to those affected by the war in Syria and more than $407 million to help displaced Iraqis. It remains the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance to people in the conflict zone.