by Heshmat Alavi
The Islamic Republic continues on its path of death and destruction.
A
conglomerate of Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, known as the
Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), or more commonly by the Arabic label al-Hashd
al-Shaabi, pose a very dire threat for the future of Iraq. This
sectarian group of dangerous armed elements is resorting to any and all
crimes with the objective of pursuing Tehran’s policies across
Mesopotamia.
The
PMU, established back in the mid-2014, has taken part in the battles of
Syria from mid-2013 onward and now, despite participating in the
offensive to retake Mosul from Daesh (ISIS/ISIL), this phenomenon poses
the gravest of all threats for the Iraqi nation.
Conditions allowing the PMU’s presence and its foreign connections have raised major concerns across the board. Human rights violations and crimes
by this group against dissidents in areas retaken from Daesh are
amongst the many other reasons intensifying anxieties about the very
nature of this alliance. The PMU is also accused of launching revenge attacks and atrocities against displaced Sunnis fleeing these areas.
A strange and disturbing irony lies in the fact that the arms provided by a broad spectrum of the international community are being used for ill purposes.
“Paramilitary
militias nominally operating as part of the Iraqi armed forces in the
fight against the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) are
using arms from Iraqi military stockpiles, provided by the USA, Europe,
Russia and Iran, to commit war crimes, revenge attacks and other
atrocities,” Amnesty International reported.
The
PMU “have used those arms to facilitate the enforced disappearance and
abduction of thousands of mainly Sunni men and boys, torture and
extrajudicial executions as well as wanton destruction of property,” the
alarming statement adds.
The report highlights “four main militias that Amnesty International has documented committing serious human rights violations: Munathamat
Badr (Badr Brigades or Badr Organization), Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (League of
the Righteous), Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) and the Saraya
al-Salam (Peace Brigades).”
Other
international human rights organizations have time and again exposed
the sectarian crimes committed by PMU ranks and files.
“Human
Rights Watch and the UN have previously blamed the pro-government
militias for perpetrating atrocities against civilians,” Alaraby reported.
“Members
of Shia militias, who the Iraqi government has included among its state
forces, abducted and killed scores of Sunni residents in a central Iraq
town and demolished Sunni homes,” HRW warned back in January 2016.
While
such warnings fell to deaf ears, HRW demanded from Baghdad to “prevent
militias with records of serious abuses from taking part in planned
military operations for the city of Mosul.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein cited strong evidence that Kata’ib Hezbollah perpetrated atrocities against a Sunni community.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair has gone as far as describing this group as extremely sectarian and run by Iranian military officers. Topping this list of commanders is none other than Revolutionary Guards Quds Force chief Qassem Suleimani.
The
Iraqi Parliament in late 2016 adopted a bill recognizing the PMU as an
official security entity, throwing “a wrench into efforts to adopt a
national settlement proposal — basically a grand plan to abolish
sectarian and ethnic quotas,” as described in Al-Monitor.
This
law is in fact in violation of the Iraqi Constitution Article 9 banning
the establishment of any militia group not falling under the command
and control of the armed forces. The PMU is a force parallel to the
Iraqi military – much like Iran’s IRGC alongside its classic army – and
not part of its structure and framework. Their very existence is in
violation of the Iraqi Constitution and as a result lacks any legality.
It is an undeniable fact that the PMU pursues the fundamental interests of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, receiving their orders directly from Tehran. The Iranian opposition, itself the target of the Iranian regime’s attacks, has time and again warned of Tehran’s increasing meddling in Iraq.
“Commander
of Iraq’s al-Hashd al-Shaabi militant group affiliated to the Iranian
regime, referring to the possibility that these mobilization forces are
present in Syria to help Assad regime for more killings and massacre of
Syrian people, claimed that Hashd al-Shaabi could help Syria to get rid
of terrorism,” according to a report posted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella group of Iranian dissident organizations including the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and others.
With
a sectarian structure, the PMU first poses a major threat for Iraq and
its sovereignty, and will move on to spread their disease across the
Middle East. If the international community seeks to calm and resolve
crises plaguing the Middle East, one very necessary step is to bring an
end to Iran’s meddling across the region.
As NCRI President Maryam Rajavi explained,
“The regime in Tehran is the source of crisis in the region and
killings in Syria; it has played the greatest role in the expansion and
continuation of ISIS. Peace and tranquility in the region can only be
achieved by evicting this regime from the region.”
Heshmat Alavi
Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/265385/iran-shiite-militias-endangering-future-iraq-heshmat-alavi
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