Iraq’s Sadr announces integration into state forces

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Shiite cleric and former militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr has announced the full separation of his armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, and its integration into Iraq’s state security forces.

Sadr, a cleric with a large popular following who once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces, has long criticized Tehran-backed armed factions and repeatedly urged them to disarm.

Sadr announced “the complete separation” of his armed group Saraya al-Salam (the Peace Brigades) from his political party and its “full integration into the state.”

He did not provide details on how this would happen.

After the development, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi urged all armed factions to join state institutions.

Zaidi, who only recently took office, has voiced support for the state’s monopoly on weapons as Washington calls for groups it designates as terrorist organizations to hand over their weapons to the government.

Zaidi called in a statement “on all armed factions to follow the same responsible national path and operate under the umbrella of the state and its official institutions.”

This would “guarantee the protection of Iraq, preserve its sovereignty, and strengthen security and stability, based on the principle that the state is the sole authority entitled to monopolize arms and enforce the law,” Zaidi said.

Sadr once led the Mahdi Army militia, which was one of the US’s main foes in Iraq after the 2003 invasion that toppled former ruler Saddam Hussein.