Moqtada Al Sadr orders his fighters to hand arms to Iraqi forces after defeat of militants
Iraq’s top Shiite cleric yesterday ordered his fighters to hand state-issued weapons back to the government after the country’s defeat of ISIL.
Moqtada Al Sadr’s fighters – Saraya Al Salam, or Peace Brigades – took up arms against the extremist group in 2014 after the fall of Mosul and are officially part of the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashed Al Shaabi.
In a televised statement, Mr Al Sadr called on his fighters to also hand over parts of the territory they control to Iraq’s security forces.
He maintained, however, that his fighters would remain present as protectors of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad.
He also demanded that the government “looks after the families of the martyrs” who fell during the three-year war against ISIL.
Mr Al Sadr demanded that his fighters, drawn largely from among the urban poor of Baghdad and southern Iraqi cities, be given jobs or be incorporated into the official armed and security forces.
Iran has armed and trained many PMF groups in Iraq but not Mr Al Sadr’s Saraya Al Salam.
Iran-backed Harakat Hizbollah Al Nujaba, which has about 10,000 fighters and is one of the most important militias in Iraq, announced last month it would give any heavy weapons in its possession to the military once ISIL extremists were defeated.
Mr Al Sadr urged Iraq’s prime minister, Haider Al Abadi, to prevent leaders of the Iranianbacked Hashed Al Shaabi from running in upcoming elections and to launch an investigation into the fall of Mosul.
Iraq is scheduled to hold general elections in May and a number of Hashed Al Shaabi leaders have indicated their desire to run, despite Mr Al Abadi asserting that political factions with armed groups would not be allowed to participate in the elections.
“We ask the Iraqi government not to allow the Hashed Al Shaabi, under any circumstances, to participate in the elections, and to prevent PMF leaders from running,” Mr Al Sadr said.
On Saturday, Mr Al Abadi announced the liberation of all Iraqi territories from ISIL extremists.
“The dream of liberation is now a reality,” he said.
ISIL extremists seized large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014, committing widespread atrocities.