Iraqi Shiite cleric demands govt dismantle paramilitary groups
BAGHDAD: Influential Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr called on the Baghdad government to dismantle the paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi umbrella organisation dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias.
Sadr was speaking to thousands of supporters in the Iraqi capital after a rare visit at the weekend to Sunni-ruled regional kingpin Saudi Arabia, a staunch rival of the Shiitedominated Islamic republic of Iran.
In a speech broadcast on huge screens, Sadr urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to dismantle Hashed and “integrate into the army the disciplined members” of the paramilitary force, an AFP reporter said.
Sadr also called on the authorities to “seize the arsenal of all armed groups”.
The Hashed al-Shaabi is nominally under Abadi’s command, but some of its components have for years been sending fighters to support Damascus in its six-year-old conflict against various rebel factions.
The paramilitary force took part in the battle to retake Iraq’s second city Mosul from the Islamic State group, and could join future operations aimed at routing the jihadists from areas of the country they still hold.
IS still controls swathes of western Iraq, including much of the desert province of Anbar. Rival forces, which largely cooperated against the jihadists in Mosul, are expected to compete for a share of the spoils. — AFP