Exclusive: Al-Zaydi approves plan to integrate factions: 35,000 job opportunities in exchange for surrendering weapons
Informed sources revealed details of the recent meeting held by the leaders of the Coordination Framework, in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the head of the committee overseeing the disarmament of armed factions, while noting that 35,000 job opportunities have been allocated for members of factions who agree to hand over their weapons.
The sources told Shafaq News Agency that “Al-Zaydi presented to the Coordination Framework the proposals of the Committee for Disarming the Factions, which he heads, which included allocating 35,000 job opportunities in the security and military institutions and the Counter-Terrorism Service, with the door to integrating the elements of the factions to be closed after the number is completed.”
She added that “a time limit of no more than three months has been set for the factions to decide their position on whether or not to disarm,” noting that “the total number of Saraya members whose weapons were disarmed by their leader Muqtada al-Sadr reached approximately 15,000, and thus 20,000 job opportunities remain, which is sufficient to accommodate all the factions.”
According to the sources, anyone who fails to meet the deadline will face legal and military prosecution. They noted that Al-Zaydi explained the country’s financial situation to the leaders of the Coordination Framework, and that the process of funding the allocations for those joining the government institution requires double the time and effort to complete, and that the government has more than one option to address the issue, including internal borrowing.
She explained that “the leaders of the coordination framework supported the proposals of the Al-Zaydi Committee, and it was agreed to attach leaders from the Ministries of Defense and Interior and the supporting security agencies to supervise the process of dismantling weapons, auditing the criminal records of the faction members, and distributing them in accordance with their technical and field capabilities.”
A political source told Shafaq News Agency on Tuesday that Prime Minister Ali al-Zubaidi had proposed to the American side an approach based on establishing service and investment projects inside Iraq, to be implemented by American companies, in exchange for proceeding with the issue of restricting weapons to the state and the factions handing over their weapons.
This comes after the Coordination Framework authorized Al-Zaydi to take decisions and measures to preserve the country’s higher interests, while supporting the project to restrict weapons to the state and to separate the Popular Mobilization Forces from political, partisan and social frameworks, in a position that was practically considered a political cover for Al-Zaydi to act on the issue of the factions.
This political movement was strengthened after the leader of the Shiite National Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced the disassociation of the “Peace Brigades” from the movement and their affiliation with the state, and called on the rest of the factions to move away from partisan and sectarian frameworks and join under the authority of the government, a step that al-Zaydi welcomed and called on the other factions to follow.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq also followed this path, as it announced the formation of a central committee to begin procedures for disengaging from the Popular Mobilization Forces formations, inventorying personnel, weapons and vehicles, and organizing mechanisms for liaising with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Then, the Imam Ali Brigades announced a similar decision that includes inventory, handover, transfer and reintegration of affiliates within state institutions.
Shafaq.com