The Iraqi government said on Thursday that the plan to impose state monopoly over weapons will begin after the complete withdrawal of anti-ISIS coalition forces by the September 30 deadline.
It stressed that dialogue is taking place at the highest levels with armed factions to ensure the success of the plan.
Spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces Sabah al-Numan said September 30 is the final deadline for ending the mission of the coalition and for the remainder of foreign forces to pull out of Iraq.
The withdrawal process is accelerating with the foreign forces showing a commitment to the deadline to end their mission in the country, he added.
ISIS has been defeated militarily in Iraq despite the continued presence of cells and remnants of the group, he remarked.
The armed forces are at the highest level of readiness to confront and destroy them, he declared.
On the armed factions, Numan said dialogue was ongoing with them over having them lay down their weapons, but the implementation will take place after the coalition ends its mission in Iraq.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had set as a priority the issue of imposing state monopoly over weapons. In remarks in June, he said there was no need for the “resistance” to remain after US troops pull out of Iraq.
The plan to impose state monopoly over weapons has lost momentum in recent weeks. Circles close to the government said they were hoping that negotiations with the factions would be a success.
Security expert Hussein Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the negotiations between the government and factions have entered a second phase through the formation of a committee that will facilitate the dialogue and reach common ground over “organizing the weapons”.
The government’s strategy after September 30 will focus on implementing its program with regards to development, reconstruction, investment and economic reform, as well as consolidating security, he added.
Professor at Al-Mustansiriya University Taleb Karim told Asharq Al-Awsat that the success of the plan is not measured by its existence on paper, but by the state’s ability to unify security decision-making and invest years of field experience in institutions and sustainable abilities in order to prevent Iraq from being used as an arena for the conflicts of others.
On the Kurdistan Region, spokesman Numan said coordination is ongoing between it and the federal government in Baghdad.
A high-level security meeting was held this week that included leaders of the Peshmerga forces during which urgent recommendations were raised for implementation, including securing border crossings.
The Kurdistan government is meanwhile ensuring that counter-terrorism efforts will continue with the international coalition.
President Nechirvan Barzani received Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren, the UK Defense Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa, for talks on joint coordination to fight ISIS remnants and terrorist threats,
A joint statement said they tackled the Iraqi government’s efforts to impose state monopoly over weapons and to unify Peshmerga forces.
