Iraq: Four Brigades Break Away from PMF Command

A view of a market in Baghdad, EPA
A view of a market in Baghdad, EPA
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Iraq: Four Brigades Break Away from PMF Command

A view of a market in Baghdad, EPA
A view of a market in Baghdad, EPA

Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi ordered taking control of four Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) combat brigades that fall under the religious authority in Najaf and Karbala.

The four brigades will now fall under the “command and management” of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and no longer under the direct command of the Iran-allied PMF board.

The four brigades include the 2nd, 11th, 26th, and 44th brigades of the PMF, which are all loyal to Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority.

The four brigades were created in June 2014 following a fatwa, or religious call to action, from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in response to the ISIS insurgency.

In mid-March, a delegation representing the four brigades met with the Minister of Defense Najah Al-Shammari, stressing their keenness on "the unity of Iraq and the independence of its decision."

It was reported at the time that the four brigades were willing to join the Ministry of Defense.

There are frequent reports on Sistani’s concern with the nature of tasks undertaken by the PMF after the war with ISIS has come to an end. Many divisions have risen in the 60-paramilitary umbrella as some factions have pledged their loyalty to Iraq’s highest religious authority and others to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In the past years, several differences have emerged between the PMF and religious authorities in Iraq. Many of the divisions involve financial and military issues.

Iraqi political expert Hisham al-Hashemi sees that Abdul-Mahdi’s decision to take over the four brigades is part of the great disputes between PMF leader Abdulaziz al-Mohammedawi , also known as Abu Fadak, and the PMF factions loyal to Iraq’s religious authority.

“This settlement means the administrative and operational disengagement of the four brigades from the PMF,” AL-Hashemi told Asharq Al-Awsat.



Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.