Militants spearheaded by powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and joined by supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussain, have in the past week overrun a large chunk of northern and north-central Iraq, although their advance has since been slowed by a government counter-offensive.

“This [unrest] is partly a result of negative factors... mainly implementing factional policies, marginalisation and exclusion,” said Foreign Minister Khaled Al Attiyah in comments carried late Sunday by QNA state news agency.

Attiyah was referring to Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority, which has mostly been disgruntled since the US-led invasion in 2003, which changed the regime after ousting Saddam Hussain.

The Qatari minister also cited the “forceful dispersement of peaceful rallies,” in reference to crackdowns in April 2013 and January this year on Sunni Arab protests that demanded Al Maliki’s ouster.