Al-Dulaimi, a member of the Iraqi Al-Siyada coalition, noted: "The Americans are seeking the dissolution of the Hashd al-Shaabi because it has stood up to their occupation." Al-Dulaimi added: "The United States wants to target the resistance forces in Iraq, just like in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine."
Al-Dulaimi further stated: According to military principles, the dissolution of the Hashd al-Shaabi means the elimination of security and the creation of a security vacuum that terrorist elements can exploit to infiltrate Iraq. The Americans have always used this tactic to create crises in order to achieve their goals in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hamam Hamoudi, the head of the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council, said on Friday during a ceremony marking the martyrdom anniversary of the commanders of victory (Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis) in Iraq: "This organization is the key to stability, progress, construction, and security in Iraq. Should we give up our security and lose one of our powers?"
Faleh al-Fayyadh, the head of the Hashd al-Shaabi organization, also stated during the ceremony that the Hashd al-Shaabi is a unifying force for the nation and operates under the guidance of the religious authority. He added: "The Hashd al-Shaabi is an official institution under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and its area of operation is within the borders of Iraq."
But what kind of organization is the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi?
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani’s Fatwa of collective duty
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, a prominent Shia religious authority based
in Najaf, issued a fatwa on June 13, 2014, three days after Daesh posed
a major threat and the Council of Ministers called for the formation of
a popular mobilization effort. In his fatwa, Ayatollah Sistani declared
fighting against Daesh a collective duty (jihad al-kifayah). This fatwa
served as a strong and decisive catalyst for the establishment of the
Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), known as Hashd al-Shaabi.
Legal legitimacy
The Hashd al-Shaabi gained legal legitimacy with the passage of the "Hashd al-Shaabi Organization Law" in the Iraqi parliament on November 26, 2016, becoming one of the military forces of Iraq and operating under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Structure
The Hashd al-Shaabi is composed of various resistance groups, with estimates ranging from 42 to 68 groups. The number of Hashd al-Shaabi forces is also estimated to be between 60,000 to 160,000.
Some estimates place the number of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) forces at 130,000, including 90,000 Shia Arabs, 30,000 Sunni Arabs, 7,000 Turkmen, and 3,000 Christians. Kurdish ethnic representation within the PMU has also been reported.
Activities
The most significant role of the Hashd al-Shaabi has been in the fight against Daesh and its affiliated terrorism, particularly in breaking the siege of the cities of Samarra and Amerli, and liberating the areas of Jurf al-Sakhar, Tikrit, Baiji, and the province of Diyala.
According to the Hashd al-Shaabi's official website, the organization has liberated 19 cities from Daesh by the end of 2015 and secured 52 roads connecting Iraqi cities. This website also reports that the Hashd al-Shaabi has freed an area of 17,500 square kilometers (one-third of the areas under Daesh control).
The Hashd al-Shaabi has also been involved in clearing Daesh remnants from areas in Baghdad, Salahuddin, Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Anbar after the fall of the Daesh regime. The PMU is also active in social services, including road construction, desertification control, ensuring the security of religious events such as the Arbaeen pilgrimage, and responding to emergencies, such as managing floods.
Domestic positions in Iraq on the Hashd al-Shaabi
The US government and its allies are seeking the dissolution of the Hashd al-Shaabi, despite the fact that the Iraqi people and elites consider it an important factor in the country's security.
It is worth noting that regarding the status and legitimacy of the
PMU in Iraq, Sheikh Bashir Najafi, one of the religious authorities in
Najaf, described the organization as “the arm of Iraq and the religious
authority.” Additionally, Seyyed Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s
National Wisdom Movement, referred to the PMU as a strategic necessity
for Iraq.
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