Iraq moves to retake Jurf al-Sakhar, return displaced Sunnis
Jurf al-Sakhar was taken by Shia militia groups in 2014, forcing the civilian population out [Getty]
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is moving to restore state control over Jurf al-Sakhar and allow its predominantly Sunni population to return nearly 12 years after they were displaced, as Baghdad pushes armed factions to surrender weapons outside state control.
Iraqi political sources told The New Arab that Zaidi had ordered a review of the security and logistical situation in the town, around 60 kilometres south of Baghdad in the country’s Babil province, which has remained largely emptied of its residents and under the control of Iran-aligned armed factions since 2014.
The government is examining mechanisms for regular security forces to deploy around Jurf al-Sakhar and at its entrances before beginning a process to restore state control.
Zaidi has also ordered the area to be reopened, its residents allowed to return and state institutions restored.
“The government is not considering storming the area, but rather reclaiming it through understandings and by gradually applying pressure on the factions,” sources told The New Arab.
The move could coincide with the expiry on 30 September of a deadline given to Iraqi factions to surrender their weapons.
Sources said the government’s plan includes gradually evacuating some faction headquarters in Jurf al-Sakhar, including those belonging to groups formally affiliated with the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and others operating under its umbrella.
They would be replaced by forces from the Iraqi army, Counter Terrorism Service, National Security Service and intelligence agencies, alongside some PMF brigades regarded as disciplined. “Zaidi wants to use the deadline given to the factions to surrender their weapons to resolve outstanding issues, including displacement,” the sources said.
Twelve years of displacement
Jurf al-Sakhar was a predominantly Sunni Arab town and a stronghold of the al-Janabi tribe before the Islamic State group seized the area in 2014.
Iraqi forces and Shia armed factions retook it in October that year, but its civilian population was not subsequently allowed to return.
The New Arab’s sources put the town’s displaced population at around 180,000 people, many of whom remain scattered across camps and other areas of Iraq despite repeated promises by successive governments to facilitate their return.
The town has since remained largely isolated from the rest of Iraq, with even government and military officials facing restrictions on entering because of the presence of Iran-backed armed groups.
The issue returned to the political agenda over the past two weeks after Adnan al-Janabi, sheikh of the Janabi tribe in Babil, described Jurf al-Sakhar as still “occupied”.
“The people of Jurf al-Sakhar consider 25 October 2014 to be the day the area was occupied, not the day it was liberated,” Janabi said at a press conference.
He accused militias of refusing to hand security responsibility back to state forces and demanded accountability for “forced displacement and the crimes of kidnapping, torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings”.
Janabi also said residents remained unable to access their land and alleged that property, including water wells, had been stolen or looted.
His comments prompted the Babil Provincial Council and provincial government to file a legal complaint against him, accusing him of presenting false information and making statements that could provoke sectarian tensions.
Babil governor Ali Turki, a senior figure in Asaib Ahl al-Haq, rejected the return of Jurf al-Sakhar’s displaced residents in June, claiming their land consisted of agricultural leases whose legal status had expired.
Sunni Sovereignty Alliance leader Khamis al-Khanjar responded by describing Turki’s position as “an explicit declaration of a sectarian demographic change project”.
The dispute now risks becoming part of a wider confrontation over the power of Iraq’s armed factions.
A member of the Sunni National Political Council told The New Arab that Zaidi faced the challenge of restoring state authority over areas not under its full control “after disarming or expelling the factions controlling depopulated areas, including Jurf al-Sakhar”.
The official argued that Iran-aligned factions were significantly weaker than in previous years and said the local population would support moves to end militia control.
“Zaidi faces a major challenge and must restore the state’s authority in the face of gangs and rogue groups,” the official said.