Exclusive: Major changes expected within Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces

Major changes are expected within Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), influential sources within the group told The New Arab, including the replacement of its chairman, Faleh al-Fayyad, who was formally appointed in 2020, and chief of staff Abdul Aziz al-Mohammadawi, known as Abu Fadak.

Mohammadawi emerged publicly and assumed his post after his predecessor, Jamal Jaafar, known as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was assassinated in a US airstrike in January 2020.

The sources told The New Arab on Wednesday that other changes are also expected, representing the first steps towards further integrating the PMF into Iraq's regular security and military system.

The changes come amid US pressure on Baghdad to regulate the PMF's status and restrict the weapons of Iran-aligned factions incorporated into and funded by the PMF itself.

The sources told The New Arab that "the committee for restricting weapons to state control, which was formed in March, has finally reached several measures concerning the Popular Mobilisation Forces, including changing the PMF uniform and providing it with new clothing, insignia and ranks, under the heading of replacing its visual identity, so that it is closer to the visual identity of the Iraqi army and the rest of the security branches, and preventing the use of religious and sectarian propaganda during tours and security and military operations when the PMF carries them out".

They also spoke of "organising the status of older personnel, as the issue of retirement from the PMF remains complicated and confusing because this matter has not been regulated through clear legal procedures".

The sources added that "the latest directives call for the inclusion of army officers with senior ranks in the PMF ranks to restructure security duties, the deployment map and disciplined compliance with military orders".

"The directives also included redistributing fighters among brigades and provinces after an electronic database was restructured and made subject to military procedures, with no mediation from brigade commanders or factions incorporated into the Popular Mobilisation Forces as part of eliminating intermediary directives and establishing the final relationship of affiliation with the armed forces' leadership, rather than with the leaders and formations that emerged with the establishment of the PMF and which exploited the PMF for political and electoral purposes."

According to political sources who spoke to The New Arab, "Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, backed by Shia political movements and parties, is seeking to implement these measures after removing Faleh al-Fayyad, who is clinging to the post and unwilling to leave it, despite political efforts on more than one occasion to remove him".

The sources also referred to accusations made by political forces that Fayyad exploited PMF brigades and formed new brigades to support his electoral list and his party, the Ata Movement.

They noted that "the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, which surrendered its weapons and announced its separation from the Popular Mobilisation Forces and its decision to focus solely on political activity, has renewed its demand for the position of chairman of the Popular Mobilisation Forces and for Fayyad to be removed".

They added that despite the persistent efforts and numerous media campaigns waged by Asaib against Fayyad, Zaidi's view is to replace Fayyad with a military commander from within the "Popular Mobilisation Forces" who believes in the Iraqi state.

Three candidates for the post are not affiliated with a political party or entity.

Regarding Abu Fadak, commander of the PMF's staff, the sources said that "he is among the security changes proposed by the Zaidi government, which are in line with changing plans and bringing in new blood".

"But the real reason behind his replacement is to comply with the US desire not to allow those it has sanctioned over allegations of corruption and terrorism to remain in positions in the Iraqi state," they said.

They expected that "the position of chief of staff of the Popular Mobilisation Forces may pose a difficult situation in the coming period because the post is considered the second most important position within the PMF, in addition to being of great benefit to the factions, particularly Hezbollah Brigades, which is close to Abu Fadak".

Over the past weeks, the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement, led by Qais al-Khazali, has resumed discussing failures within the PMF as part of a campaign against Faleh al-Fayyad and efforts to push for his dismissal.

The campaign intensified after Saudi-US airstrikes targeted PMF headquarters in more than one Iraqi province at the end of July, killing and wounding about 60 PMF members.

This was followed by leaks claiming that "Zaidi had informed Fayyad to evacuate the headquarters before the bombing, after receiving information about the planned strikes, but Fayyad did not take any precautions to prevent the PMF fighters from being killed".

Asaib Ahl al-Haq used this issue as part of its campaign to remove Fayyad from his post.

Sheikhani: Fayyad should be questioned after PMF headquarters bombed

Commenting on the issue, Hussein al-Sheikhani, a member of the political bureau of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement, said Zaidi "had informed the leaders of the Coordination Framework of the details of the strike during a meeting attended by Fayyad, but an unclear matter that we do not know about prevented the latter from taking measures to protect the Popular Mobilisation Forces fighters".

He told The New Arab that "Parliament is required to question Fayyad after the incident in which PMF headquarters were bombed by Saudi Arabia and then move towards dismissing or holding those responsible accountable according to the results of the questioning and the official investigation".

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Adnan Faihan, a leader in Asaib, had previously called for a committee to investigate whether the government had prior knowledge of the timing of the Saudi-US targeting and failed to take the necessary measures.

The committee was expected to submit its report within a week. However, the results have not yet emerged.

The restructuring of the leadership of the PMF appears to have already begun, particularly after the Interior Ministry announced the closure of 71 headquarters described as "fake" and claiming affiliation with the PMF.

This prompted the PMF to issue a clarification confirming that those headquarters had no connection to it.

This indicates the emergence of a dispute between the prime minister and PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad.

In a statement, the PMF said that "the measures to close and monitor those headquarters were carried out by the General Directorate of Security and Discipline at the Popular Mobilisation Forces as part of the work of the Permanent Committee for Restricting Weapons".

The Interior Ministry's statement did not mention the specific body that carried out the closure of the fake headquarters.

Security and political affairs researcher Abdullah al-Rakabi said that "the security changes Zaidi made in the security agencies over the past weeks excluded the Popular Mobilisation Forces, given the sensitivity of the organisation".

"But the coming period may witness major changes within the PMF institution, particularly the position of chairman, as there are political parties that have objected to Fayyad's presence in his post for about 10 years," he said.

"His dismissal may also not cause political problems and is not difficult because Fayyad does not have political backing. It appears that the same applies to PMF chief of staff Abu Fadak."

Speaking to The New Arab, he said that "there are many political disputes over Fayyad. As for Abu Fadak, he is rejected by the US, and the two may be replaced before Sept. 30 as part of the US-Iraqi agreement to end the factions' weapons and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq".
 

How were the Popular Mobilisation Forces established?

The Popular Mobilisation Forces are an umbrella organisation bringing together more than 70 armed formations and factions in Iraq.

The roots of its establishment date back to June 2014, when the Iraqi government decided to organise volunteers to repel Islamic State's invasion of Mosul and its surrounding areas.

This came before religious authority Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for "defensive jihad", urging those capable of carrying weapons to volunteer in the security forces.

This prompted thousands to join the armed formations later known as the "Popular Mobilisation Forces", which also included factions that were already active.

In February 2016, the Popular Mobilisation Forces were reorganised under a cabinet order.

In November of the same year, the Iraqi parliament passed the Popular Mobilisation Forces Law No. 40, which made it part of the armed forces and placed it under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

The move came amid objections and a boycott by lawmakers from Sunni political forces.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.