ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's presidency and parliament speakership on Wednesday condemned as a "flagrant violation of sovereignty” the US-Saudi bombardment of several Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions across the country, which have killed nearly two dozen of the umbrella organization's members and wounded more than 30 others, according to official figures.
The presidency
The Iraqi presidency condemned the targeting of PMF positions, calling it "an unacceptable attack, a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and a targeting of Iraq's official security institutions in contradiction with the rules of international law and the United Nations Charter."
Of note, the PMF was established in 2014 during the Islamic State group's (ISIS) blitz across Iraq, which saw the group seize large parts of the country's north and west.
Formed in response to a fatwa by Iraq's highest Shiite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the PMF was initially an umbrella organization of roughly 70 predominantly Shiite armed groups, with an estimated 250,000 members.
Though a state-funded institution, it notably includes factions widely believed to overlap with the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance.’ Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, these factions have carried out attacks against alleged US targets in the region in support of Tehran, often operating under the banner of another entity - the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).
The Iraqi presidency on Wednesday reaffirmed its rejection of the use of the country’s territory “as a launching pad” for “attacking neighboring countries or settling regional and international accounts, based on commitment to the principles of good neighborliness, respect for state sovereignty, and non-interference in their internal affairs.”
It further called on "all parties to respect Iraq's sovereignty and refrain from any actions that would destabilize its security and stability," stressing the need for "dialogue to address crises in a way that preserves the region's security and spares its peoples further escalation and tension."
The speakership
Similarly, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi condemned "in the strongest terms the attack that targeted sites belonging to the Iraqi security forces, which resulted in a number of martyrs and wounded."
Halbousi said "the assault represents an unacceptable violation of Iraq's sovereignty, an infringement on its security and stability, and a transgression against the state's security institutions that perform their duties in protecting and defending the homeland."
At the same time, the speaker urged Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, commander-in-chief of armed forces, to "conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation” into the targeting and to "expose the parties involved in any hostile acts launched from Iraqi territory toward neighboring countries and holding those responsible accountable."
Halbousi further warned against the use of "Iraqi territory as a base or corridor for any aggression against any country" and “as a launch pad to harm the security and stability of neighboring countries."
"We reaffirm the necessity of sidelining Iraq from regional and international conflicts and not dragging it into the fires of war," he said, adding that Iraq's "national interest requires that Iraq remain an arena for stability, dialogue, and cooperation, not a field for settling accounts or exchanging military messages."
Earlier on Wednesday, Zaidi called for an "emergency meeting" of the Ministerial Council for National Security, Baghdad's Security Media Cell (SMC) reported, noting that the meeting comes against the backdrop of "the developments of the security situation and the aerial bombardment that the country was subjected to at dawn today."
"Following this meeting, a detailed statement will be issued regarding the course of events and the decisions taken," the SMC said.
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