Shafaq News- Saladin
The appointment of a new commander for the SamarraOperations Command has triggered tensions in the Iraqi city after members ofSaraya al-Salam, the armed faction of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM) ledby Muqtada al-Sadr, rejected the decision, security sources told Shafaq News onMonday.
According to a document, Faleh al-Fayyadh, chairman of thePopular Mobilization Forces —a predominantly Shiite umbrella formationincorporated into Iraq’s state security apparatus in 2016— relieved Ali JakhifaLafta al-Shammari of his duties as commander of Samarra Operations andappointed Youssef Mizan Naseef Ragheef as his replacement, effectiveimmediately.
The document did not outline the reasons behind thedecision.
Security sources reported that members of Saraya al-Salamdeployed across several streets and locations in the city in response to themove, citing the new commander’s affiliation with Asaib Ahl al-Haq and thedismissed commander’s perceived proximity to Saraya al-Salam as the maindrivers of their opposition.
Tensions between Saraya al-Salam and Asaib Ahl al-Haq havepersisted. The latter’s leader, Qais al-Khazali, split from Muqtada al-Sadr’smovement and the Mahdi Army before establishing the faction. Rivalry betweenboth sides has periodically fueled political disputes and armed confrontationsin several southern provinces, including Basra and Maysan.
Last month, al-Sadr stated that Saraya al-Salam woulddisengage and directed its members to integrate into official institutionsunder the authority of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ascommander-in-chief of the armed forces.
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