British minister says Iraq must quell Sunni fears amid advance

RIYADH (Reuters) - Iraq's government needs to show Sunni Muslim citizens that it is on their side as its forces, alongside Shi'ite militias, advance towards areas held by Islamic State militants, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Tuesday. Iraq's military push towards Tikrit, a mostly Sunni city, has involved thousands of Shi'ite militiamen, witnesses have said. That is raising fears it will aggravate sectarian tensions of the kind Islamic State, locally known as Daesh, thrives on. Shi'ite militia have been accused of mass executions and burning of homes in areas they have seized from Islamic State. Leaders of the paramilitary forces have denied the accusations. "It's good to see progress by the Iraqi forces against Daesh, not simply checking their advance but now beginning to reverse it," Fallon told Reuters in an interview in Riyadh. "But it's equally important that in doing that they do retain the support of the local population." Britain's Royal Air Force is conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq. Later this month, Britain will take part in efforts to train Syrian rebel groups that it sees as moderate to fight the militant organisation. Fallon was visiting Saudi Arabia to meet its new defence minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia is also mounting air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, and the kingdom is a crucial market for British arms manufacturers. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who reached out to Sunnis after his appointment last year, said on Sunday when the military offensive began that the army and militias must protect civilians and property in the battlefield. Fallon said Abadi must push ahead with efforts to reform the army and create a National Guard to make the security forces more inclusive and dispel Sunni anger that contributed to Islamic State's sudden advance last year. "He needs to reassure, as I've said, all parts of Iraq that the government is there for all of them and represents all of them rather than one particular sectarian interest because we saw where that went wrong before," he added. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Larry King)