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Samarra Tensions Test Iraqi Govt's Plan to Control Arms
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Samarra Tensions Test Iraqi Govt's Plan to Control Arms

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A dispute between the Saraya al-Salam faction and the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Samarra, Iraq, tests the government's plan to control arms.
  • Saraya al-Salam, loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, rejected serving under PMF command after a security commander change in Samarra.
  • The tension highlights the challenge Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi faces in integrating militias into state security forces and imposing a state monopoly on weapons.

Tensions are escalating in Samarra, Iraq, as the Saraya al-Salam faction, loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has firmly rejected orders to serve under the command of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). This standoff presents an early challenge to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's initiative to consolidate all arms under state control.

The dispute ignited following reports of a new security commander appointed in Samarra, the base of Sadr's armed wing. Observers suggest the new commander is aligned with the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction, which has historically strained relations with Sadr's movement due to political and ideological differences. A Sadrist official described the situation in Samarra as one of "severe tension" caused by "deliberate friction" from certain PMF commanders and parties targeting Saraya fighters.

state of severe tension

— Sadrist officialDescribing the situation in Samarra due to friction between PMF commanders and Saraya fighters.

The conflict reportedly began when PMF chief Falih al-Fayyadh dismissed Ali al-Aqili, the PMF operations commander in Samarra and a Sadrist member, replacing him with a commander perceived as close to Asaib Ahl al-Haq. This move angered Saraya al-Salam fighters, prompting an appeal to Prime Minister al-Zaidi, who also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to intervene.

deliberate friction

— Sadrist officialAttributing the tension in Samarra to intentional actions by some PMF commanders and parties.

Earlier in June, al-Zaidi established a higher committee to oversee Saraya al-Salam's integration into government security forces, placing it directly under the commander-in-chief. The Joint Operations Command confirmed it received the necessary data for this integration. Saraya al-Salam, comprising brigades 313, 314, and 315, has operated semi-independently within the PMF since 2007, maintaining poor relations with many PMF factions and not taking direct orders from their commanders.

While the PMF has remained silent on the current tensions, Saraya al-Salam reiterated its refusal to operate under PMF command, emphasizing its voluntary disarmament and integration into state institutions as a "practical model" for placing weapons under state authority.

a practical model

— Saraya al-Salam statementReferring to their voluntary disarmament and integration into state institutions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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