Iraqi Hezbollah's Demand to Disband Peshmerga Draws Sharp Rebuke from Shiite Alliance
The Services Alliance, one of Iraq's political movements, has rejected Iran-backed Iraqi Hezbollah's calls to disarm armed groups and dissolve Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region.
RastinewsThe Services Alliance, one of Iraq's political movements, has rejected demands from the Iran-backed Iraqi Hezbollah to disarm armed factions and disband Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region. The alliance condemned the group's stance as a threat to stability and a violation of the Iraqi constitution.
Services Alliance leader Shibl al-Zaidi described the circulation of weapons outside state control—despite the existence of the Hashd al-Shaabi—as "a genuine threat to civil peace," even as the Hashd continues to operate.
Responding to comments on disarmament from Iraqi Hezbollah's senior security official, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, Zaidi warned that these weapons risk being turned on domestic rivals at a time when American and other foreign forces are already withdrawing from Iraq.
Zaidi called on lawmakers to strengthen the law governing the Hashd al-Shaabi, the umbrella force that includes numerous Iran-backed Shiite militias. He said the organization's ideological character could be preserved, but insisted its weapons must remain firmly under state control.
September 30 deadline set
The Iraqi government has set September 30 as the deadline for disarmament, timed to coincide with the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
The Services Alliance, a decisive political force within the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, staked out its position after Assaf laid out three conditions for cooperation on disarmament. Assaf's conditions were:
A complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, including from its airspace.
An end to American influence over Iraq's political and economic decisions.
The withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Kurdistan Region and the disbanding of Peshmerga forces.
Iraqi Hezbollah and the Nujaba Movement are among the groups most opposed to placing weapons directly under state control.
Iraqi Hezbollah's latest demands also carried a direct warning to Prime Minister al-Sudani. Assaf said the group's "patience is running out" over actions by Sudani that he called "provocative and irresponsible." "Our patience with the prime minister's irresponsible actions is beginning to run out," Assaf said, adding that senior political figures expect Sudani to correct the "security deviation" he has caused. Assaf also accused Sudani of failing to grasp the "complex conditions" facing Iraq and the region, warning him not to be drawn into actions that would please Iraq's enemies.
The sharp statements followed the arrest, in Dhi Qar province, of Abbas Hussein al-Yaqoubi, a senior Hashd al-Shaabi commander linked to the Nujaba Movement. The Hashd al-Shaabi later confirmed that Yaqoubi had been handed over to its own security directorate for legal proceedings.
The Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella organization made up largely of Shiite militias, was formed in 2014 after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for a war against ISIS, and was later formally incorporated into Iraq's security structure.
Source: Rudaw