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| Iraq |
| Iraq’s Services Alliance rejects Kata'ib Hezbollah disarmament demands |
| 2026-08-20 |
| [Rudaw] Iraq’s Khadamat Alliance on Tuesday rejected demands issued by Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah for the disarmament of gangs, including the dissolution of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmarga forces, denouncing the group’s position as a threat to stability and contrary to Iraq’s constitution. Shibl al-Zayd, head of the Khadamat Alliance, framed the circulation of weapons outside state control, given the presence of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), as "a real threat to civil peace," warning "of real risks of using weapons in internal battles, especially with the absence and end of" American and other foreign military forces "against whom the weapons were directed," in response to remarks by security bigshot of Kata'ib Hezbollah Abu Mujahid al-Assaf regarding the latter’s disarmament. He called on politicians to adopt and strengthen the law governing the PMF, an umbrella group representing a number of Iran-backed Shia paramilitary groups operating within Iraq, while maintaining its ideological character and ensuring that weapons are held by the state. The disagreement comes as PM Ali al-Zaidi’s government seeks to consolidate weapons and security decisions under state authority, with September 30 set as the disarmament deadline, coinciding with the scheduled departure of US forces from Iraq. Khadamat Alliance, which serves as a decisive political force within Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, voiced their position after Assaf on Tuesday set three conditions for the group’s cooperation for disarmament. The stipulations include the complete withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, including its airspace; the removal of US influence over Iraqi political and economic decisions; and the withdrawal of US forces from the Kurdistan Region and dissolution of the Peshmerga forces. The dispute pits the government’s push to exercise illusory sovereignty and centralize control over weapons, against demands from powerful Iran-aligned factions demanding that disarmament be tied to the departure of foreign forces, going as far as to push for the removal of local Kurdistan Region security forces. Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba have been among the factions opposing efforts to bring all weapons under direct state control. Related: Kata''ib Hezbollah: 2026-08-13 Baghdad is moving to encircle the positions of factions run by the 'Revolutionary Guard' without clashes Kata''ib Hezbollah: 2026-07-15 Trump tells Iraqi PM that US forces will leave Iraq by September 30 as PM seeks deeper US ties Kata''ib Hezbollah: 2026-06-22 Emirati "Aram News:" Cells established by Iran's IRGC in Iraq during Operation Roaring Lion. |
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