France also to blame for rise of IS: CPI-M

France cannot escape responsibility for the rise of the Islamic State which has now unleashed bloodbath in Paris, the CPI-M said on Thursday.

An editorial in "People's Democracy" said the West, including the US and France, had played a key role in toppling the secular regimes in Iraq and Syria by propping up Islamist forces.

"The destructive civil war and the weakening of the Syrian government created conditions for the rise of (Islamic State) and the establishment of the Islamic State that controls large chunks of territory in Northern Iraq and parts of Syria," the editorial said.

"It is this monster which was created by the US-French-NATO intervention that is now posing such a serious threat.

"The US-French bombings in Syria are now seeking to curb this menace which was, in the first place, created by their aiding the extremist forces like Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamist forces that were financed and equipped by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies," it added.

On November 13, terrorists linked to the Islamic State unleashed mayhem in Paris, killing nearly 130 people and wounding around 350 in the bloodiest incident of violence in the French capital since World War II.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said there were vehement denunciations whenever anyone seeks to expose certain facts and truths to the Western powers.

"The roots of the tragedy, which hit Paris, lie in the killing fields of Syria and Iraq.

"The rise of Islamist extremism and the acts of terror which have taken place around the world stem from the military interventions and the policies pursued by the Western powers led by the US in Iraq and Syria.

"The US attacked Iraq and occupied it after toppling the Saddam Hussein regime. President Bush falsely accused Saddam of helping Al Qaeda... Now that Al Qaeda has morphed into the IS."

The editorial pointed out that in Syria, France had been in the forefront among the NATO allies of the US in working for the overthrow of the secular regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"In doing so, it has funded and equipped the Islamist extremist forces who are backed by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.

"France has been complicit with Turkey, another NATO partner who has through its borders, facilitated the crossing of thousands of extremists who flocked to Syria to wage jihad against the Assad government.

"The French government was not unduly concerned when radicalized Muslim French citizens went to Syria to fight, as long as they were fighting the Assad government." - IANS