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Iraqi Militias Agree to Hand Over Weapons to Government
Confirmed
In Short: Two powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq have announced they will begin surrendering their weapons to the authorities, marking a significant step towards integrating these groups into state control.
Two of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed militias, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Imam Ali Brigades, have announced their intention to begin handing over their weapons to the Iraqi government, a major development in the new government’s efforts to rein in independent militias.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq has established a committee to oversee the process, which includes inventorying fighters, weapons, and equipment, and coordinating with the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces.
The move comes amid the fragility of Iraq’s state institutions and the limited ability to control Iran-backed groups, following recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in the Middle East.
A week ago, influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia, Saraya al-Salam, also indicated it would integrate into state institutions, while the group Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah have expressed a willingness to coordinate with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces rather than surrender their arms.
Background
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and historically known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south.
What's confirmed
- Members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces parade of Shiite group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, participate in a Quds Day march in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File) IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Two of…
- One of the groups, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said it had formed a committee to oversee the move, inventory its fighters, weapons and equipment, and coordinate with the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces.
- A week ago, influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said his Saraya al-Salam militia, also known as the Peace Brigades, would split from his political movement and integrate into state institutions.
What's still developing
- The war in the Middle East, which the United States and Israel launched on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran, has exposed the fragility of Iraq’s state institutions and their limited ability to restrain Iran-backed groups.
- In a recent statement attributed to its Abu Mujahid al-Assaf social media channel, the group said it would offer to coordinate with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces — a state-backed umbrella of mostly…