Muqtada Al-Sadr places Saraya Al-Salam under state authority
Shafaq News- Najaf
Iraq’s Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM – formerly Sadrist) leader Muqtada Al-Sadr announced on Wednesday the formal separation of the movement’s military wing, Saraya Al-Salam, stating that its members would join state institutions and come under the authority of the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.
Al-Sadr described the move as a step taken “in the national interest” and in response to the risks facing the country, adding that civilian bodies affiliated with Saraya Al-Salam would be transferred to “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous” without retaining headquarters, weapons, uniforms, titles, or other organizational symbols.
— مقتدى السيد محمد الصدر (@Mu_AlSadr) May 27, 2026
He also expressed hope that all armed formations within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) would distance themselves from “partisan and sectarian orders” and urged factions to hand over their weapons to the state, noting that he had called for such a step years earlier.
Debate over regulating weapons outside state control and restructuring armed factions has intensified in recent weeks. A government source previously told Shafaq News that several Iraqi factions and armed groups had shown “flexibility” toward surrendering their weapons after initially rejecting the proposal, with a phased process expected to begin after Eid Al-Adha on May 27.
Officials are also discussing mechanisms for implementing the process under the supervision of PM Al-Zaidi once cabinet formation is completed. Under the proposed framework, some factions could transition into political organizations, while others may be incorporated into the PMF, a coalition of mostly Shiite factions formally integrated into Iraq’s security apparatus under Law No. 40 of 2016.
Read more: Iraq’s armed factions and disarmament debate: Unity masks divisions
