Al-Sadr said in a statement: “I announced the dissolution of the Promised Day Brigade and the closure of their headquarters, and if they had not handed over their weapons to the former Peace Brigades, or what is currently called, Brigade 313, 314, 315 in Samarra, I would have ordered them to surrender their weapons and they would have obeyed.”
He added that “they must hand over their weapons within 48 hours, hoping that this step will be the beginning of dissolving the armed factions, handing over their weapons, and closing their headquarters.”
He pointed out that this decision “may be a message of safety and peace for all people.”
Efforts to end armed presence
The Promised Day Brigade was formed in 2008 to confront the American forces, and was frozen more than once, but its last activation was with the entry of ISIS into several Iraqi provinces.
Al-Sadr’s decision to dissolve his faction comes as part of efforts to end the armed presence in the country, as well as imposing this on the political blocs that have armed wings, whether within the Popular Mobilization Authority or outside it.
Yesterday, Al-Sadr called on the armed factions to “review themselves to restore the people’s confidence in the future.”
Al-Sadr added, in a speech he delivered in Najaf: “What these parties are doing now will increase the people’s alienation from them,” noting that “if the losing parties want to participate in the government, they must immediately hand over the corrupt to the judiciary, liquidate the popular crowd of undisciplined elements and not put his name in the Politics, severing relations with countries in a way that preserves Iraq’s independence and does not involve the country in useless foreign wars.
The weapon does not present a political view
In turn, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Issam Hussein, believes that “Al-Sadr’s initiative is aspired to by all Iraqis, as uncontrolled weapons are annoying, as it does not provide a real political view of foreign countries, so Al-Sadr launched this initiative, to remind the parties that the path they are taking is wrong.” .
Hussein added, in a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that “it is not possible in the next stage, for there to be armed factions and a popular mobilization, but rather the presence of these factions must be ended, and the mobilization should be completely under the framework of the state, so that nothing happens structural defect of the government.
He pointed out that “uncontrolled weapons had negative repercussions on the situation in Iraq during the past years, for example, foreign companies refuse to come to Iraq, due to the absence of a safe environment, and the growing dangers surrounding it.”
Al-Sadr, whose bloc topped the results of the recent early parliamentary elections, seeks to break the prevailing political custom in Iraq of “quotas” and form a “national majority” government that faces rejection from other forces that have powerful armed arms in the country.
new stage
The judiciary is still considering appeals against the election results, amid continuous protests from supporters of the losing political forces.
In turn, security expert Hamid Al-Obaidi believes that “the decision to dissolve the Promised Day Brigade will be a good gesture, and a message to the armed groups, of the seriousness of the ongoing political movement to end the armed presence, and this step should not be overburdened.”
Al-Obaidi added, in a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the armed groups will be in complete embarrassment in front of local, Arab and international public opinion, if they refuse to lay down their weapons,” noting that “Iraq is going through a new phase, and there are clear steps, to strengthen The path of the state, in light of Arab cooperation, with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.
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