Iran-backed militia Asaib Ahl Al Haq (AAH) said it has begun implementing a decision to disengage from the Popular Mobilisation Forces and place all of its weapons under state control, in a rare public move by one of Iraq’s most powerful armed factions.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group said the decision had followed a call from Iraq’s top Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, and government demands to ensure a state monopoly on arms.
To carry out the directive, AAH said it had formed a central committee with the task of fulfilling all requirements for the handover, including carrying out an inventory of personnel, weapons, vehicles, equipment and logistics.
It will also co-ordinate directly with the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces to fulfil the requirements of state and security institutions.
The announcement comes amid renewed pressure from the US and Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi’s government to integrate or disarm Iran-backed militias operating under the PMF umbrella. AAH is one of the largest and most influential factions within the PMF, and is designated by the US as a terrorist organisation.
When ISIS seized large parts of northern and western Iraq in mid-2014 as the country's US-trained security forces collapsed, thousands of Iraqis answered the call by Ayatollah Al Sistani to join the fight against the extremist group.
Several powerful pro-Tehran Shiite militias – including AAH, which had been fighting in Syria’s civil war in support of Bashar Al Assad's forces – joined the PMF. They also kept parallel forces operating outside it under the umbrella group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
After Iraq declared victory over ISIS in late 2017, the PMF and Iran-backed armed factions expanded their influence militarily, economically and politically. This extended reach has made them powerful enough to challenge the government in several cases.
These groups have claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks inside and outside the country since the Iran war broke out on February 28 to support Tehran in the face of US and Israeli attacks, avenge the killing of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and in response to strikes on their own bases.
The integration of the PMF into Iraq's security forces, while disarming other groups and keeping politicians linked to them way from senior government posts, are the main demands of US President Donald Trump. Last year, the Iraqi government withdrew a contentious draft law to regulate the PMF and grant it more power, after pressure from the US and other foreign powers.
Last week, Shiite cleric and former militia leader Moqtada Al Sadr announced the “complete separation” of his armed faction, Saraya Al Salam, from the PMF and its integration into the country's state-run forces.
Mr Al Sadr's militia is not pro-Iran but his move was to “support the government and an attempt to move a heavy rock in the issue of non-state actors in Iraq”, a Shiite politician told The National.
If the AAH plan is implemented, the move would mark a significant shift in the group’s formal relationship with the state, although similar pledges by other factions in recent years have led to limited results.
AAH did not provide a timeline for completing the inventory or transferring its weapons.
The US has opposed any participation in Iraq's government by members of Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid Al Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah Al Awfiya, Imam Ali Brigades and AAH. Washington has designated these groups terrorist organisations and imposed sanctions on their senior members.
To appease Washington, Iraqi authorities are debating a plan to establish a security ministry that would bring the PMF and other bodies under a single structure amid mounting US pressure. However, the US has yet to confirm whether it would accept this move.
