Oman joins U.S. coalition against the IS

The Sultanate of Oman has vowed to play its part in the battle against Islamic State (IS) saying 'no one can afford to neglect a situation as serious as this.

"It is about the stability of the region. No one can afford to neglect a situation as serious as this and the general agreement in Riyadh is to work as fast as possible to end IS threat. We are all confident we will achieve this," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted in a statement. 

The Omani foreign ministry official assured the alliance was "serious on the action plan" and it would be implemented in due course. 

Iraqi and Syrians residents have welcomed an agreement led by the United States with its Arab allies to form an alliance against IS aggressions in their countries.  

Oman and its fellow GCC members met with the United States and other Arab countries in a meeting in Riyadh on Thursday to form an alliance to contain the threats posed by IS militants.

An Omani foreign affairs ministry's official, when contacted by Times of Oman, said, "The resolution in Riyadh is to help the governments of Syria and Iraq to end the crisis by finding ways to stop IS extremism before it spreads to other countries."

The Riyadh agreement will lead to a broad and unified campaign against IS insurgency that has rampaged parts of Syria and northern Iraq. 

IS terror has displaced thousands of people in both the countries and is causing considerable concerns to Iraqi and Syrian expatriates who are worried about their relatives trapped between clashes and political turmoil.  

"It is good news that finally countries of the world have realised that IS rebels are not just a threat to these two countries but to the entire world. It is also good to know that Arab leaders are taking an active part in this conflict," Mohammed Azmeh, a Syrian resident who works in a travel agency in Muscat, told Times of Oman.

A long-term Iraqi resident in Oman hoped the conflict would end soon so that the relatives living outside Iraq would finally come to know about the whereabouts of their family members who have disappeared in clashes.

"I am thankful to Oman and other countries that are getting together to get rid of IS in my country.  My brother is a soldier in the Iraqi army and he has disappeared two months ago while fighting the terrorists and we don't know what happened to him," said Ibrahim Najjafi, an Iraqi national who have been working as a school teacher in Oman for 18 years, said.

"I am not the only one. Many others like me in Muscat would like to know about their missing relatives,"  said the Iraqi national. 

But some of the expatriates from the two countries are cautious fearing that the Riyadh meeting may be part of the lip service and decision to do anything constructive against the IS would drag on and eventually bear no concrete result.

"These two countries are almost under siege. Let's hope the meeting in Riyadh will not be the usual noise we see every time there are conflicts. Thousands of people are already dead and more on the way to the graveyards. 

We can't afford another drag-on because this is not about Syria and Iraq but against the civilized world," Mustafa Al Attrash, a Syrian oil worker told Times of Oman.