The Islamic Republic continues on its path of death and destruction.
A
conglomerate of Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, known as the Popular
Mobilization Units (PMU), or more commonly by the Arabic label al-Hashd al-Shaabi, pose a very
dire threat for the future of Iraq. This sectarian group of dangerous armed
elements is resorting to any and all crimes with the objective of pursuing
Tehran’s policies across Mesopotamia.
The
PMU, established back in the mid-2014, has taken part in the battles of Syria
from mid-2013 onward and now, despite participating in the offensive to retake
Mosul from Daesh (ISIS/ISIL), this phenomenon poses the gravest of all threats
for the Iraqi nation.
Conditions
allowing the PMU’s presence and its foreign connections have raised major
concerns across the board. Human rights violations and crimes by this group against dissidents in
areas retaken from Daesh are amongst the many other reasons intensifying
anxieties about the very nature of this alliance. The PMU is also accused of
launching revenge attacks and atrocities against displaced Sunnis fleeing these
areas.
A
strange and disturbing irony lies
in the fact that the arms provided by a broad spectrum of the international
community are being used for ill purposes.
“Paramilitary
militias nominally operating as part of the Iraqi armed forces in the fight
against the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) are using arms from
Iraqi military stockpiles, provided by the USA, Europe, Russia and Iran, to
commit war crimes, revenge attacks and other atrocities,” Amnesty International reported.
The
PMU “have used those arms to facilitate the enforced disappearance and
abduction of thousands of mainly Sunni men and boys, torture and extrajudicial
executions as well as wanton destruction of property,” the alarming statement
adds.
The
report highlights “four main militias that Amnesty International has documented
committing serious human rights violations: Munathamat
Badr (Badr Brigades or Badr Organization), Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (League of the
Righteous), Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) and the Saraya al-Salam
(Peace Brigades).”
Other
international human rights organizations have time and again exposed the
sectarian crimes committed by PMU ranks and files.
“Human
Rights Watch and the UN have previously blamed the pro-government militias for
perpetrating atrocities against civilians,” Alaraby reported.
“Members
of Shia militias, who the Iraqi government has included among its state forces,
abducted and killed scores of Sunni residents in a central Iraq town and
demolished Sunni homes,” HRW warned
back in January 2016.
While
such warnings fell to deaf ears, HRW demanded from Baghdad to “prevent militias
with records of serious abuses from taking part in planned military operations
for the city of Mosul.”
UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein cited strong
evidence that Kata’ib Hezbollah perpetrated atrocities against a Sunni
community.
Saudi
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair has gone as far as describing this group as extremely sectarian and run by Iranian military officers.
Topping this list of commanders is none other than Revolutionary Guards Quds
Force chief Qassem Suleimani.
The
Iraqi Parliament in late 2016 adopted a bill recognizing the PMU as an official
security entity, throwing “a wrench into efforts to adopt a national settlement
proposal — basically a grand plan to abolish sectarian and ethnic quotas,” as
described in Al-Monitor.
This
law is in fact in violation of the Iraqi Constitution Article 9 banning the
establishment of any militia group not falling under the command and control of
the armed forces. The PMU is a force parallel to the Iraqi military – much like
Iran’s IRGC alongside its classic army – and not part of its structure and
framework. Their very existence is in violation of the Iraqi Constitution and
as a result lacks any legality.
It
is an undeniable fact that the PMU pursues the fundamental interests of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei, receiving their orders directly from Tehran. The Iranian opposition,
itself the target of the Iranian regime’s attacks, has time and
again warned of Tehran’s increasing meddling in Iraq.
“Commander
of Iraq’s al-Hashd al-Shaabi militant group affiliated to the Iranian regime,
referring to the possibility that these mobilization forces are present in
Syria to help Assad regime for more killings and massacre of Syrian people,
claimed that Hashd al-Shaabi could help Syria to get rid of terrorism,”
according to a report posted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella
group of Iranian dissident organizations including the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and others.
With
a sectarian structure, the PMU first poses a major threat for Iraq and its
sovereignty, and will move on to spread their disease across the Middle East.
If the international community seeks to calm and resolve crises plaguing the
Middle East, one very necessary step is to bring an end to Iran’s meddling
across the region.
As
NCRI President Maryam Rajavi explained, “The regime in Tehran is the source of
crisis in the region and killings in Syria; it has played the greatest role in
the expansion and continuation of ISIS. Peace and tranquility in the region can
only be achieved by evicting this regime from the region.”
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