Hashd al-Shaabi insist on remaining “independent” military force in Iraq despite opposition
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias insist on having a role in post-Islamic State (IS) Iraq despite international and local calls for the dissolution and folding of the armed groups into the official Iraqi army and police apparatus.
Hassan Salim, Head of the al-Sadiqoun group, an Iraqi parliamentary bloc affiliated to the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, has rejected demands to dismantle the Hashd al-Shaabi and to integrate its factions into the official Iraqi security forces’ structure.
Speaking to local Iraqi media, Salim said that the existence of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), as an independent national military force was “essential” to withstand threats on Iraqi soil.
He argued it is evident that many security commanders were corrupt, former Baathists, and affiliated to IS, and that there are commanders “who do not want stability in the country.”
Salim added that the Hashd al-Shaabi thwarted what he described as the “Zionist-American-Gulf project,” and that this was the reason why “they do not want [the Hashd al-Shaabi] to remain as a military force capable of standing against them.”
The Deputy Commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, affirmed that the Shia militia collective “insists” on preserving this force [the Hashd al-Shaabi] to “eradicate and fight terror” in Iraq, and counter any international threats.
Muhandis added that the role of the Hashd al-Shaabi is complementary to the Iraqi army, claiming the PMF could not oppose the Iraqi security apparatus, but nor could “they [the army] fight without us.”
Many Kurdish, Sunni and even Shia politicians have called for the dissolution of the powerful militias as the war against the jihadists group reaches its end.
Influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in a televised speech on Monday said “We advise our brothers in all factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi to hand over their weapons to the federal government and work to strengthen it by enabling it to impose its control over all of Iraq’s territory.”
Editing by Nadia Riva