Shafaq News..Iraqi President backs state monopoly on weapons

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said Saturday that only the state should
hold weapons, and that this must be pursued responsibly, without foreign
interference or armed confrontation.

Speaking on a panel at the eighth Baghdad International Dialogue, Amedi said the drive
to bring weapons under state control has the backing of the constitution, the
Shiite religious authority in Najaf, Iraq’s political blocs and the public.

Read more: Days to disarm Iraq’s factions: deadline or negotiable ceiling?

The government has stepped up efforts to curb the influence of
Iran-aligned factions. One of them, Kataib Hezbollah, has set three conditions
for any deal with Baghdad over its weapons: ending the US influence over Iraq’s
political and economic decision-making, the withdrawal of Turkish forces from
northern Iraq, and the dissolution of the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan Region’s
official security forces.

Amedi stressed that the Peshmerga are a regular force on par with the
Iraqi army and a legitimate national institution central to the country’s
defense, and are not part of the current weapons-control effort.

Read more: What happens to Iraq’s armed factions after September 30?