KDP official: Shiite militias prepare to move on Jalawla

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Shiite militia movement known as the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units, has arrived in the town of Saadia with heavy weapons and intends to enter by force the Kurdish-controlled town of Jalawla, a Kurdish official told Rudaw on Saturday.
 
Jalawla and Saadia, both located in Diyala province, have been heavily disputed areas between Kurdish and pro-central government Shiite forces even as both factions are fighting the Islamic State.
 
Jaafar Mustafa, a Kurdistan Democratic Party official in Khanaqin, told Rudaw Saturday the Hashd al-Shaabi want to implement ex-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan to control Saadia, Jalawla, Amrly and Sleman Bagh, adding that if hostilities continue between the erstwhile allies the situation will only get worse.
 
Mahmud Sangawi, the head of Peshmerga forces in Jalawla, said his forces are aware of the Hashd al-Shaabi plan for Jalawla and his Peshmerga are well prepared.
 
“We hope nothing will happen, but if they fire at Peshmerga we will respond,” Sangawi told Rudaw Saturday. “We will never let them take over Jalawla. Jalawla is a Kurdish town. We took control of it with our blood. No other forces should be seen inside Jalawla.”
 
Kurdish Peshmerga and security forces in Khurmatu, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kirkuk, clashed with Hashd al-Shaabi forces last week and several people were killed on both sides.
 
Amid recent tensions between Kurdish forces and Shiite militia in Khurmatu, locals reported Saturday that Shiite militiamen had torched homes and shops in several parts of the town.
 
However, calls for peace amid the escalations have come from an unlikely source.
 
On Friday Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army during the US-occupation of Iraq was infamous for promoting violent sectarianism, called on Kurdistan region President Masoud Barzani, Iraqi President Fuad Masum and Shiite militia leader Hadi al-Amiri to work towards ending the conflict between the Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi.