Heads of Iraqi gov't branches meet after militias' show of force in Baghdad, calling it 'grave violation'

Mustafa Shilani 2021/05/27 22:37

Left to right, Iraq's prime minister, president, parliament speaker, and Supreme

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – After a meeting of the heads of Iraq's cabinet, parliament, and judiciary, as well as its president, on Thursday in Baghdad called in response to Iranian-backed militias' armed show of force the previous day at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, a government statement referred to the armed groups' actions as a "grave violation" of the rule of law in the embattled nation.

"The continuing security turmoil is an encroachment on the state’s authority and its right to make security and military decisions" read a statement released by the office of federal President Barham Salih, who hosted the meeting in Baghdad's Presidential Palace that serves as his residence.

Early Wednesday morning, elite forces arrested Qassim Musleh, a commander in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), according to a judicial warrant that circulated on social media shortly afterward. The arrest enraged both PMF leaders and rank-and-file soldiers, who quickly gathered at entrances of the Green Zone, where many government buildings and foreign missions are located.

Militiamen set up improvised checkpoints outside the sprawling compound and then entered, reportedly brandishing arms while surrounding high-level government buildings and even Kadhimi's residence.

According to Reuters, Musleh was arrested for his involvement in several violent incidents within Iraq's borders, including multiple recent rocket attacks on bases that host US and other international forces.

Attending Thursday's top-level meeting was Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi, and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faeq Zaidan. All three wield power more significant than Salih, who, as Iraq's president, holds an important but largely ceremonial position.

The statement from his office continued, "The meeting discussed the recent developments and the dangerous repercussions resulting from them," characterizing the militias' actions as a "challenge to conducting fair elections" scheduled for October.

"Such actions expose the stability of the country to real risks, and this requires an active presence of various political forces in order to confront this escalation and support the state in confining weapons to those under its control, closing ranks," it added that the solution was "ending sedition and adopting unified, serious, and decisive stances to remedy the crisis."

Musleh's arrest came just one day after Iraqis poured into the streets of the capital by the thousands, demanding accountability for the targeted killings of dozens of activists and demonstrators taking part in a popular anti-corruption protest movement that began in late 2019, moany of which have been blamed on the PMF. Kadhimi, whose resignation is among the demonstrators' demands, then said that he had launched a "transparent" investigation into the killings of two young men killed by security forces in Tuesday's protest.

In June of 2020, forces from Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service raided a PMF headquarters in southern Baghdad following a spike in earlier rocket attacks widely blamed on the militias that targeted military bases, diplomatic missions, and Baghdad International Airport. Although more than a dozen PMF fighters were arrested in the operation, most of them were quietly released later that day amid strong pressure by the militias, which hold a great deal of military and political clout in Iraq.

There have been conflicting reports on Wednesday and Thursday regarding whether or not Musleh, in fact, had also been released.

Editing by John J. Catherine