Foreign governments backing Iraqi insurgents, ministers say [View All]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Foreign governments are backing the bloody insurgency against US forces and Iraq's interim government as it vies to steer the war-torn country toward planned January elections, several Iraqi ministers said.

Nesreen Mustafa Berwari, Iraq's minister of public works, also said the "enemies" of Iraq are pouring into the country across Iraq's porous borders to fight US soldiers.

Despite this, Berwari and fellow ministers expressed optimism that insurgents would not derail elections planned for January 30 for which some 200 groups have registered.

"It's proven to be more challenging than what it was only because the groups that are against freedom in Iraq are multi-faced, well funded and definitely supported by external bodies and governments," Berwari stressed.

She spoke at a discussion on Iraq's scheduled election hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here.

"It's difficult for Iraq's government to control security by its own when the enemies are coming from surrounding countries, when the enemies are well funded, and when the enemy wants to do exactly ... to stop the election and kill the quest for freedom and democracy," Berwari said.

Iraq's minister of state for civil society, Mamu Farhan Othman, echoed Berwari more pointedly: "Our neighbor countries are doing evil things against Iraq."

"We are sure we will win. Either you kill or you will be killed," Othman said of the struggle against the insurgents.

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