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Al-Lami's Dismissal Splits Iraqi PMF

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani between PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh and Chief of Staff Abu Fadak (government media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani between PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh and Chief of Staff Abu Fadak (government media)
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Al-Lami's Dismissal Splits Iraqi PMF

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani between PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh and Chief of Staff Abu Fadak (government media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani between PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh and Chief of Staff Abu Fadak (government media)

After a tense night, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq reversed their decision to fire security chief Abu Zeinab al-Lami. Sources said Kata’ib Hezbollah forced the PMF to backtrack by encircling their headquarters in Baghdad with armed fighters.

Iraqi sources reported on Thursday morning that the head of the PMF had dismissed al-Lami and temporarily appointed Ali al-Zaidi. However, the PMF later reversed this decision under unclear circumstances.

Local media reported that armed Kata’ib Hezbollah members, with vehicles and medium weapons, surrounded the PMF headquarters in Baghdad, where al-Lami’s office is, and warned against enforcing his dismissal.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that government officials, security leaders, and faction heads held contacts amid a tense atmosphere of threats.

Kata’ib Hezbollah sent 15 armed vehicles to seize the PMF headquarters, coinciding with talks between PMF Chief of Staff Abu Fadak Al-Mohammedawi and government officials. This led to reversing al-Lami’s dismissal.

Both Abu Fadak and al-Lami are from Kata’ib Hezbollah, and many believe the dismissal aimed to reduce the faction’s influence in PMF security institutions.

Social media reported that Kata’ib Hezbollah’s vehicles parked at the security directorate’s back lot after militants took control of the building.

Al-Lami had been making key decisions without consulting PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh or Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Reports suggest the dismissal order came from al-Sudani, but sources believe Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq was behind it, with the prime minister signing the order.

The dismissal is rooted in deep conflicts between Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, with the latter seeking full control over the PMF, according to sources.

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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)

Geneva has hosted a third “roundtable” of meetings involving Sudanese political and civil groups aimed at bridging the gap between the country’s warring parties. These talks, coordinated by the French organization Promediation, follow similar meetings held previously in Cairo and Geneva. The primary goals are to negotiate a ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians.

The two-day meetings, which began on Monday, include representatives from the Coordination of Democratic Civil Forces (Tagadum), the pro-army Democratic Bloc coalition, and armed movements aligned with the bloc. However, some groups have announced their boycott of the meetings.

The Democratic Bloc has shown conflicting stances on attending the Geneva talks. Mohammed Zakaria, spokesperson for the bloc and a member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), announced his group’s decision not to participate.

Omar Khalafallah, a leader in the Democratic Unionist Party and another bloc spokesperson, refuted Zakaria’s statement, insisting that the bloc would attend the meetings to promote a national vision.

A source within the Democratic Bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings revealed significant internal divisions in the coalition. The JEM, led by current Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, appears to be charting its own course, which the source described as a form of defection.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sharif Mohammed Osman, a leader in Tagadum and the political secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, explained that the meetings seek to achieve consensus on ending the war through negotiated solutions, starting with a humanitarian truce to ensure aid delivery and the opening of safe corridors.

These measures are considered preliminary steps toward a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, he underlined.

A wide array of civilian leaders are participating in the talks, including key figures from Tagadum, such as Sudanese Congress Party leader Omar Al-Dukair, Federal Gathering Party leader Babiker Faisal, and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council Al-Hadi Idris.

Osman expressed optimism that the participants would issue a unified final statement addressing the peaceful resolution of the war and agreeing on a humanitarian truce to facilitate aid delivery.

In October, Cairo hosted a similar meeting, which resulted in a final statement signed by the participating groups, except for the Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minnawi faction and the JEM – Jibril Ibrahim faction, which refused to endorse the Cairo declaration despite attending the discussions.

Promediation, a French organization supported by the French and Swiss foreign ministries, has played a consistent role in Sudanese affairs. Since June 2022, it has organized roundtable discussions, initially focusing on negotiations between Darfuri armed movements before expanding its scope to include Sudanese political and civil forces in the wake of the war.