Deputy Commander of Hashd al-Shaabi orders withdrawal of Shia militias from liberated areas

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi has ordered a withdrawal of its forces and closure of offices in Sunni-populated territories as Shia factions attempt to convince the Sunni ones to join them in forming the largest parliamentary bloc in the new Iraqi government.

In an official document, the Deputy Commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, directed all PMF factions to move their headquarters outside of liberated cities and close their offices.

“All the Hashd al-Shaabi headquarters will be moved outside of [liberated] cities, and all offices under any name [related to the Hashd al-Shaabi] will be closed in the liberated areas,” the document said.

According to the document, a PMF brigade should no longer open any headquarters, offices, or deploy troops inside liberated regions.

Additionally, the document notes that Commanders of Hashd al-Shaabi brigades have to cut ties with the political parties and religious Shia groups who supported their formation.

Muhandis warned that the brigades who remain loyal and committed to their supporting sides would be “dealt with as a force outside of the [PMF].”

Those brigades which violate the demands will be brought before the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (current Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi) who will take the necessary measures against them, he added.

Muhandis has achieved a senior position in Baghdad, with the ability to command forces that can intimidate Iraqis and carry out the very threats now coming from Iran that aim to influence the formation of the next Iraqi government.

The PMF Deputy Commander has worked with Tehran for decades and was indicted for the 1983 bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait. In 2009, the US designated him and his group, Kata'ib Hizballah, as a terrorist organization.

The decision to withdraw the Iran-backed Shia militias from the Sunni-populated areas comes after efforts by the PMF’s al-Fatih Coalition and Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law to convince the Sunni factions represented in the National Front Coalition to join them in forming the largest parliamentary bloc in the new Iraqi government.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany