Iraqi PMF chief: Government's work to end US occupation 'essential'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
7 Feb 2024 23:01
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Leaders of the Iraqi Resistance spoke to Al Mayadeen during a memorial held for martyrs killed in recent US airstrikes.

The chief of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Falih al-Fayadh (C) attends a funeral for PMF martyrs who were killed in a US airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq, February 4, 2024. (AP)

The head of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, Falih al-Fayadh, affirmed that the American crime in al-Anbar "should mark the final [US] crime through the efforts of the Iraqi government."

During a memorial service held in Karbala for martyrs killed in the US aggression on al-Qaim Akashat in western Iraq, al-Fayadh told Al Mayadeen, "The efforts of the Prime Minister (Mohammad Shia al-Sudani) and our national government to end the presence of the international coalition are important and essential to stop all these crimes and their consequences."

Al-Fayadh added, "The Prime Minister's decision to end the [presence of the] international coalition will be the start of a new mode of relations [with the US] where [Iraq's] sovereignty is respected and Iraqi constants are respected."

On his part, the Secretary-General of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri, told Al Mayadeen, "The price of this pure and noble blood as a result of the treacherous American aggression on Iraq and targeting the positions of the Popular Mobilization [Forces] will be the exit of the occupier at the nearest opportunity."

Following a series of US series on Iraq, in which 16 members of the PMF were slain, the PMF affirmed their readiness to carry out any orders from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to preserve Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Separately, the Iraqi government issued a statement warning that the recent US attacks "place the security of Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss, and contradicts efforts to consolidate stability."

"The presence of the international coalition, which has deviated from its assigned tasks and the mandate given to it, has become a cause for security threats and instability in our country, and is involving Iraq in regional and international conflicts."

Furthermore, it accused "the US of engaging in deception and distorting facts by claiming prior coordination [with Baghdad] before committing this aggression," labeling it a "false claim" aimed at "misleading the international public opinion and shirking legal responsibility for this unacceptable crime."

The government pledged to "exert all efforts required by national responsibility to protect the land of Iraq and the lives of its sons in the armed forces across all its branches."

Finally, it reiterated Iraq's refusal to be a "ground [for parties] to settle [their] scores."