Maliki calls for alignment with Syrian government amid growing tensions in Syria
Al-Maliki’s call for support for the Syrian government comes at a time that on Thursday another prominent Shiite figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for non-interference in the Syrian affairs.
Dec. 6, 2024
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - On Friday, the former Prime Minister of Iraq and the head of the State of Law coalition, Nouri al-Maliki stated that the unfolding events in Syria signify the start of a new terroristic project and that Iraq must be protected.
Nouri al-Maliki pointed out that Iraq has gone through a number of crises, but he claimed that “we have been able to successfully protect the land.”
Referring to the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a “criminal”, al-Maliki stressed that “he has been experimenting with a new terroristic project, and now urged not to engage Hash al-Shaabi in Syria. But we do not take a neutral position and we will fight anywhere in defense of Islam and Muslims.”
He further indicated that the events in Syria are the beginnings of a new project, urging the Iraqi government to protect the country from “sleeper cells anywhere through national unity.”
He pointed to the trios of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs), Counter-Terrorism Service, and the tribesmen to have the collective capacity to withstand any threat.
Al-Maliki’s call for support for the Syrian government comes at a time that on Thursday another prominent Shiite figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for non-interference in the Syrian affairs.
The same call was later echoed by one of the leading Sunni figures Khamis al-Khanjar.
However, speeches such as the one by the State of Law Coalition leader resonate with the sort of political rhetoric that Iranian-backed armed groups such as Kataeb Hezbollah try to spread.
Kataeb Hezbollah has consistently called on Iraq to be more actively engaged in Syria and send PMF to support the Syrian army.
The Iraqi government’s official stance on this matter is not quite straightforward. Denouncing the acts of the opposition forces in Syria as terroristic, the Iraqi government has only sent reinforcements to the areas bordering Syria.
The battle of political discourses in Baghdad is tilted towards the positions that support engagement; however, there are no real factors for actual engagement yet.