Iraq faction disarmament talks near deadlock, says source
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Negotiations over disarming Iraq's armed factions have reached a near-deadlock, a government source close to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi told Shafaq News on Thursday, warning that escalating rhetoric could “spill into the streets” and threaten security.
The source said armed factions continued to refuse to surrender their weapons and had intensified their criticism of al-Zaidi, his government, and the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, which is negotiating with the groups through a special committee.
“Continued verbal escalation could develop into confrontations on the streets, potentially affecting the country's security.”
According to the source, influential Coordination Framework figures held talks and made contacts over the past several hours to ease tensions and prevent the disagreements from escalating further.
Bringing weapons under state control remains a major point of contention between the government and armed factions, including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which have resisted surrendering their military capabilities.
On Wednesday, Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC), said leaders and members of the Iran-aligned "resistance front" had pledged their "absolute loyalty" following Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's directives to confront adversaries without geographical limits.
Al-Zaidi's efforts to bring faction weapons under state control have received support from several Shiite political groups, including Muqtada al-Sadr's Patriotic Shiite Movement and Ammar al-Hakim's National Wisdom Movement.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, led by Qais al-Khazali, and Kataib al-Imam Ali have also announced steps to separate their armed formations from their political organizations and bring them under state authority.
Read more: Asaib Ahl Al-Haq joins Iraq's cabinet as hardliners reject disarmament deadline
A US State Department previously told Shafaq News that Washington supports al-Zaidi's efforts to strengthen state sovereignty, bring weapons under government control, and prevent armed attacks.
