Shafaq News- Baghdad
Former Iraqi Prime Minister and head of the State of LawCoalition (SLC) Nouri al-Maliki hailed efforts to place weapons under statecontrol during a meeting on Sunday with US Chargé d’Affaires to Iraq JoshuaHarris.
Al-Maliki stressed the importance of keeping armsexclusively in the hands of state institutions, noting that strengthening stateauthority and enforcing the rule of law are essential to preserving security,stability, and Iraq's broader national interests.
The meeting also covered regional developments, bilateralrelations, and ongoing political efforts to secure parliamentary approval forthe remaining cabinet positions.
https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Iraq-s-Al-Nujaba-challenges-government-disarmament-planEarlier this week, Iraqi security officials outlined thefirst practical steps toward integrating armed factions into stateinstitutions, beginning with the transfer of facilities and weapons belongingto Saraya al-Salam of Iraq’s Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM).
The ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), to which theSLC belongs, recently endorsed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's plans torestructure relations between armed groups and the state.
Several factions have already taken steps in thatdirection. Both Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have introduced measuresaimed at reorganizing their forces and aligning them with the government'sweapons-control initiative. Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN), Kataib Hezbollah, andAshab al-Kahf, however, have rejected calls for disengagement.
: How the US pushed Iraq's armed factions toward disarmament, and who is still pushing back
