Kurdish truck drivers: Hashd al-Shaabi taxes us on Baghdad road

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdish truck drivers on Tuesday complained about the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi, known as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), for taxing them while transporting goods from Erbil to Baghdad.

One of the Kurdish drivers in Erbil, who asked to be called KP due to security reasons, told Kurdistan24 the drivers are forced to pay taxes to Hashd al-Shaabi on Baghdad roads.

“They take IQD 100,000 [US $85] from each Kurdish driver without having any governmental or official papers from the federal government of Iraq,” he said.

He also noted the taxes were only taken from Kurdish drivers, not Arabs.

KP also mentioned the forces installed several checkpoints after the Sulayman Beg road.

“This has affected our daily work,” the Kurdish driver added. “Due to these taxes, fewer products are transported to the central and southern provinces of Iraq.”

Kurdistan24 contacted several Kurdish truck drivers who work on the Erbil-Baghdad road, and all of them confirmed Hashd al-Shaabi taxes them.

“I was jailed by Hashd al-Shaabi for 10 days because they found out I had transported goods for a Sunni businessman in Baghdad,” another Kurdish driver added.

Additionally, Kurdistan24 contacted Hashd al-Shaabi in the Sulayman Beg area regarding the taxation, but they refused to comment.

Last year, similar incidents were reported where the militia group abducted some Kurdish people on a Baghdad road.

PMF are one of the largest Iraqi militias in the country consisting of over 51 militant groups.

The militia was created after the Iranian top Shia cleric in Iraq Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani decided to protect the Shia shrines from the Islamic State threats.

The militia has often been reported by Amnesty, an international human rights organization, for committing war crimes in different parts of Iraq.

In late 2016, the federal government of Iraq recognized the militia as a national armed force.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany