Spokesperson for the prime minister AbdulKareem Khalaf said in a statement on Monday, December 9, that the caretaker prime minister has ordered the PMF only to carry out security actions specifically ordered by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, which is the prime minister.
“Abdul Mahdi has ordered the Hashd al-Shaabi not to interfere in internal security affairs at all,” Khalaf added.
Abdul Mahdi’s order came two days after he met with the British, German, and French ambassadors, who encouraged the government to ensure that its recent decision to order the PMF to stay away from protest locations was followed.
“No armed group should be able to operate outside the control of the state,” the ambassadors said in ajoint statement.
The PMF is an umbrella organization of paramilitary groups, many of whom are backed by Iran and were established years ago. Others were formed specifically to fight Islamic State in response to a call to arms by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in 2014.
Technically a part of the state security apparatus, they have come under criticism for operating on their own.
On Saturday, diplomatic missions in Iraq resoundingly expressed their horror at a deadly attack on unarmed protesters near Baghdad’s Tahrir Square that killed 25 people and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to justice, which have been blamed on so-called so-called “third party groups.”
Iraqis took to the streets at the beginning of October to protest of corruption, lack of services, and unemployment, but since then the unrest has become a more general uprising seeking the ouster of the Iraq's political establishment.
More than 400 people have been killed in Baghdad and provinces in the south. Thousands have been injured in the unrest as the government and third party groups have used live ammunition, snipers, and tear gas in an attempt put down the protests.
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