Iraqi government approves additional funding for influential paramilitary group

Decision to increase funding for Popular Mobilisation Forces comes as graduates clamour for more jobs in the public sector

Members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces carry pictures of comrades killed in US air strikes during a funeral procession in Baghdad in February. EPA

Iraq's government on Tuesday approved increased funding for the state-sanctioned paramilitary group known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

In a brief statement after the weekly Cabinet meeting, the government said the increase “is to guarantee paying the salaries and allowances” of PMF members for the current year. It did not give more details.

The government formed the PMF to organise thousands of volunteers who answered the call by the Shiite cleric Ali Al Sistani to take up arms against ISIS as the terrorist group was advancing on Baghdad after sweeping through northern and western Iraq in 2014, following the collapse of US-trained security forces.

Several powerful Iran-backed Shiite militias joined the PMF shortly after, some of which were already fighting alongside President Bashar Al Assad's forces in Syria’s civil war. Since declaring ISIS defeated in late 2017, the PMF and mainly Tehran-aligned militias have emerged as a powerful force in Iraq and grown more defiant towards the government and opposition groups.

The PMF has grown in strength and assumed more responsibilities. Last year's budget showed the PMF's membership had grown to 238,000, up by 116,000 from 2021, and that it was allocated a budget of at least 3.56 trillion Iraqi dinars ($2.7 billion).

Shortly after taking office in October 2022, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani approved the establishment of a trading company to be run by PMF. In March, the China Machinery Engineering Corporation signed a deal with the PMF-run Al Muhandis Company to explore several projects in Iraq.

The allocation of more funds to the PMF comes as Iraqi cities witness almost daily protests by graduates to demand the creation of jobs for them in the public sector. These protests are often met with a heavy-handed response by security forces.

As the Cabinet was meeting on Tuesday, hundreds of medical graduates took to the streets outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the government buildings and foreign diplomatic missions are located.

Skirmishes erupted between the protesters and security forces. Videos circulated on social media showed security forces using batons and hot water to disperse the crowd. Some of the protesters were seen on the ground bleeding, while others were arrested.

Mr Al Sudani ordered an investigation and gave the Health Minister one week to prepare a report on the employment of the medical graduates.