Shafaq News-Najaf
The head of thePatriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered Saraya al-Salam(Peace Brigades) to comply with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) decisionto replace the commander of Samarra operations, a source close to the Shiitecleric told Shafaq News on Tuesday.
Faleh al-Fayyadh,the PMF chairman, relieved earlier Saraya al-Salam official Ali Jakhifa Laftaal-Shammari of his duties as commander of Samarra Operations and appointedYoussef Mizan Naseef Ragheef of Asaib ahl al-Haq as his replacement. Securitysources reported that members of Saraya al-Salam deployed across severalstreets and locations in the city in response to the move.
"Thetension that occurred yesterday has been contained, following directivesrequiring commitment to official orders and a halt to escalation," thesource said, adding that the PMF's decision was designed “to provoke aportrayal of the movement as insubordinate to official state decisions.”
Al-Sadr moved,according to the source, to pre-empt any confrontation by issuing a directorder for compliance, since the security of Samarra constitutes a "redline" for all Iraqis —particularly Shia Muslims— given the 2006 bombing ofthe al-Askari shrine and the subsequent security collapse that accompanied theISIS territorial advance across large parts of the country.
The source alsodefended the Saraya al-Salam security record in Samarra, stating that nosignificant security breaches had been recorded since the force assumedresponsibility for the city, and calling on relevant authorities to factor thattrack record into any future decisions on Samarra's security management.