Iraq PM rejects manpower concerns in smuggling crackdown

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Sunday rejected warnings that security forces lacked the manpower to confront those implicated in oil smuggling in Babil province.

In remarks made during a meeting with members of an investigative committee tasked with uncovering oil smuggling operations in Jurf Al-Sakhr, also known as Jurf Al-Nasr, Al-Zaidi questioned the value of undermining troop morale, arguing that security forces needed leaders willing to deploy them and stand behind them.

Al-Zaidi praised the investigators' courage, integrity, and determination, saying they had made history by exposing activities that deprived Iraqis of their resources. He portrayed the committee members as examples of public service and commended the Iraqi judiciary for supporting efforts to combat corruption.

The Prime Minister warned anyone who believed their illegal activities were going unnoticed to reconsider. He said Iraq had endured such practices for too long and held the country's current leadership responsible for confronting them.

The PM also praised the Iraqi judiciary for fully supporting efforts to combat corruption, insisting that no part of the country would remain a place for smuggling and theft.

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