PM Maliki calls for unity in Iraq

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a ceremony in Baghdad, December 31, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218762.html

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for unity among all political parties and people in the country following the withdrawal of American troops.

Maliki said on Sunday that all Iraqis should abide by the country's constitution, urging various political parties not to lead Iraq to a divided state.

The Iraqi premier also noted that his government will revise the industrial sector to rebuild the country.

In an earlier press conference in Baghdad on Saturday, Maliki announced the day of departure of US troops from Iraq as a national holiday.

"I announce that on this day, December 31st, which coincides with the complete pull out of all foreign troops from Iraq, is declared a national day -- it's Iraq's day," he said.

Despite the US withdrawal from Iraq, some 8,000 American troops have remained in the country's northern Kurdistan region.

Along with the troops, some 14 warplanes, 125 helicopters and 28 drones also still remain in the country's northern region.

The 2003 US military invasion has left around one million Iraqis dead, according to the California-based investigative organization, Project Censored.

The Iraq war has killed some 4,500 American troops and injured thousands of others.