Powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq say they will start handing in weapons to authorities
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Two of them of Iraq The most powerful Iranian-backed militias announced Tuesday that they will begin handing over their weapons to authorities. new government’s effort to rein in militias Although they are nominally under the command of the state, they have long operated on their own.
One of the groups, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said it had formed a committee to oversee the movement, inventory its fighters, weapons and equipment and coordinate with the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces. It was stated that the decision was made in response to the calls of Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority and pro-Iranian forces. Coordination FrameworkThe largest bloc in the Parliament that dominates Iraqi politics.
The second group, the Imam Ali Brigades, made a similar statement, saying that it was time to “establish a strong state with full sovereignty.” He added that his goal now is only to have guns in the state and to help strengthen state institutions.
war in the middle eastThe offensive launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 with attacks on Iran has revealed the fragility of state institutions in Iraq and their limited ability to rein in Iran-backed groups.
A parallel conflict between Washington and militias has deepened the crisis, with the factions acting as an extension of Iran’s regional campaign and Iran stepping up attacks on US assets in Iraq. weak ceasefire agreement reached In April.
A week ago, influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said the Saraya al-Salam militia, also known as the Peace Brigades, would separate from his political movement and integrate into state institutions.
Prime Minister is under pressure from Washington Ali al-Zaidi works to defend state authority on weapons. Al-Zaidi, the 40-year-old banker who was sworn in last month, has made the state monopoly on weapons the centerpiece of his program.
The Trump administration has warned that any Iraqi government should not be influenced by Iran-linked groups and has tied defense cooperation and financing to efforts to thwart them.
Most Iran-backed militias are financed from the Iraqi state budget and are part of the security apparatus, although not under government control. This led to criticism from the United States and other countries that bore the brunt of the militia’s attacks. Baghdad failed to take a tougher stance about armed groups
Many armed groups aligned with Iraq’s Coordination Framework have taken a different stance on efforts to bring weapons under state control. Two major groups, Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, rejected disarmament, blaming the issue on Iraqi sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops.
Kataib Hezbollah welcomed moves by other groups to bring weapons under state authority but said its own armed activity would continue as part of what it described as “resistance work.”
In a recent statement attributed to the Abu Mujahid al-Assaf social media channel, the group said that instead of surrendering its weapons, it would offer to coordinate with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces, a state-backed umbrella of mostly Shiite armed groups.
The Popular Mobilization Forces were formed in 2014 to fight the Sunni militant Islamic State group, which had captured large swathes of Iraqi territory at the time. Most of the groups still maintain their own commands and ties to Iran.
