Saturday's Crimes..Where is Iraq being dragged to?

Shafaq News/The last thing Iraq needed now is feeding the frenzy of the security, economic, and health crises that ravaging it, and yet the "Saturday Crimes" raised concerns about the security of the country; only hours before Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's European tour to Paris, London, and Berlin.

The Saturday Crimes came out of any rational context of the current Iraqi events, opened more wounds in the exhausted Iraqi body, and damaged the fragile reassurance of the multiple Iraqi components’ fabric -for purposes that do not yet seem to be well-defined but will certainly leave painful effects.

Dozens of the Popular Mobilization Forces’ (PMF) supporters stormed the Headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Baghdad and burned it alongside a Kurdish flag..While gunmen committed a massacre in the Al-Farhatiya area in Balad district of Saladin governorate; two crimes on the same day shook the security scene violently. As Al-Kadhimi’s government has been trying for weeks to emphasize the seriousness of this file; attaching great importance to -as one of the keys to move forward on a series of vital steps to Iraq.

In addition to the many security and military changes, Al-Kadhimi made attempts to capture the security file and impose the stability Iraq needs to complete the reforms of the White Paper and prepare for the early elections next June. Lately, he completed an essential settlement in Sinjar to restore stability and reconstruction -in agreement with the Kurdistan’s government. Thus, it requires all factions and armed militias’ departure and Article 140’s application to address the disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil.

"Saturday's crimes" raised questions about whether they carry political-security messages in the light of these developments.. Saturday’s crimes represent a stab at the heart of these developments, while Al-Kadhimi was interested in leaving for his Government's European tour; a tour his government is counting on, to support economic and financial plans, as well as to support Iraq in the face of the repercussions of the COVİD-19 pandemic.

"The fire at the Headquarters of KDP and the crime in Al-Farhatiya area are part of the power struggle, and a prelude to the upcoming elections", Haitham Hadi Nu’man, writer and political analyst at The Washington Institute, told Shafaq News agency.

"The burning of the Headquarters of KDP was the result of Hoshyar Zebari's statements, as well as the parties’ fear of their role’s end under Al-Kadhimi’s government and its alliance with the Kurds", Nu’man said.

Calls for restricting the arms by the state in Iraq have been growing, and Al-Kadhimi has expressed his opinion many times in recent months; after the increase of rocket attacks on the Green Zone -targeting the U.S. embassy, and assassinations of activists, such as Hisham al-Hashimi. The attacks on the Green Zone have sparked a major crisis in the relations with Washington, which has sent a clear warning to Al-Kadhimi’s government to halt the attacks or face the possibility of the American embassy’ closure.

"As for Al-Farhatiya crime, it is a warning to the Sunni parties not to try to stand with the government and the Kurds in the process of ending the role of militias. These actions are linked to forces loyal to militias close to Iran, part of which is under the PMF", Nu’man told Shafaq News agency.

A PMF leader denied responsibility for the attack on the KDP's headquarters and blamed supporters of the crowd, saying it was the result of their anger at Zebari's remarks to Al-Hurra TV. And he said that the green zone should be "cleaned up" from the presence of the PMF to control security.

"The PMF as an official institution has nothing to do with the burning of KDP’s Headquarters in Baghdad..Those who did this are the PMF’s supporters, and they are dealing and reacting in sympathy”, PMF leader Mohammed Al-Basri told Shafaq News agency.

Zebari's remarks seemed to carry more meaning than they could have, and he then hinted that the precise expression of the idea did not help him. However, many observers wonder why Zebari's statement provoked such a whirlwind and led to the burning of the Headquarters of KDP, while many statements and criticisms against the PMF in earlier times from many political parties remained within the framework of normal political expression, and did not lead to the crime of burning the headquarters of a party with a historical, political, and parliamentary presence.

The office of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces announced the arrest of 15 suspects accused of burning KDP’s headquarters in Baghdad.

In his first comment on "The Saturday crimes" Al-Kadhimi tweeted, "There is no return to sectarian rivalry or the Iraqis’ hostility against each other for political purposes. We've moved through that together and we're not going back..The crime of Balad district and the attack on Kurdistan’s Democratic Party's headquarters are unacceptable; any attack against Iraqis we face in the name of the state and the people".

"One of the PMF points in Balad district was attacked and besieged two days ago by ISIS, that left one dead fighter and three wounded others before the horrific crime took place in Al-Farhatiya", said Qasem Al-Kreiti, operations officer of the 41st Brigade of the PMF, according to the official popular mobilization website.

"ISIS deliberately committed this crime to create a gap in the PMF and threaten the community peace achieved by blood and sacrifices. The work is ongoing to fully uncover the truth through the commission of inquiry formed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The results of the investigation will show the targeting of ISIS to the region and its people”. Al-Kreiti said.

On Saturday, unidentified gunmen executed eight youths by firing squad without knowing the reasons, in the village of Al-Farhatiya in Balad district.. While four others were missing, a security source told Shafaq News.

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was quick to visit Saladin governorate, accompanied by the Ministers of Defense and Interior, the head of the PMF Commission, the chief of staff of the army, and the deputy commander of joint operations..He also held a meeting with the security and military leaders in the governorate, and told the families of the victims, "your sons who have fallen treacherously and patiently are our sons and their blood rights will not be lost..We will direct the strengthening of the presence of security forces and the provision of more protection".

The “Saturday Crimes" provoked a remarkable external reaction.. The U.S. State Department strongly condemned the attack on Kurdistan’s Democratic Party in Baghdad by Iranian-backed elements in the PMF -outside the control of the Iraqi government, which creates ethnic and sectarian tensions as well as undermining democracy, calling on, "all parties to act responsibly in this critical phase, especially as Iraq is engaged in the face of a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a constant ISIS threat”.

"The visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to Al-Farhatiya will be an important step to put all armed groups under the state’s control once and for all..This is the only way to stop further bloodshed", said Matthew H.Tueller, U.S. ambassador in Baghdad.

While the British embassy condemned the attack on the Headquarters of KDP and called for, "addressing political differences through dialogue, not violence, is an essential element of an effective democracy", welcoming, "the steps taken to hold those responsible accountable". The United Nations said in a statement to Shafaq News agency, "Iraq needs unity, stability, and dialogue to address its many problems”.