Latest news with #Hashd
Iraqi News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Iraq stands firm on Popular Mobilization Bill despite US pushback
Baghdad – A bill in Iraq that would further formalise the role — and perhaps, the autonomy — of a powerful coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries has sparked a heated debate, fanned in part by US pressure. Few details of the bill that could decide the future of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also referred as Popular Mobilization Forces or PMF, alliance have been made public. Formed in 2014 when Iraqis were urged to take up arms against the jihadists of the Islamic State group, the Hashd is a powerful force with major military and political clout. The bill aims at regulating and restructuring the alliance of a myriad of armed groups, which together have more than 200,000 fighters and employees. Not mincing words, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the proposed legislation 'would institutionalise Iranian influence and armed terrorist groups undermining Iraq's sovereignty'. An Iraqi government official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said opponents of the bill say it 'seems to establish something similar to the Revolutionary Guards' in Iran — a powerful military force imbued with the Islamic republic's ideology. The aim, according to political scientist Renad Mansour, is to integrate the Hashd 'even more into the state'. 'Some argue that this is an important first step, because it's better to have them in this system than outside the system, where they could be spoilers,' said Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House think tank. But others, he added, 'argue that this is a further way for the Hashd to consolidate its power', giving the alliance 'access to greater funds, greater intelligence, and other kind of equipment and technology'. The debate around the bill comes at a time of heightened regional tensions and upheavals, as the Gaza war reverberates across the Middle East. Iranian allies and proxies have been weakened in wars with Israel, which has Washington's backing. In Lebanon, Tehran-backed group Hezbollah faces a government push to disarm it by the end of the year. In recent years, the Iraqi armed factions have seen their clout grow, with some gaining seats in parliament and in government, even as several group leaders — including the Hashd's top commander — have been subjected to US sanctions. In 2022 the coalition was granted a public works enterprise, Al-Muhandis, with capital worth tens of millions of dollars. Responding to Washington's concerns, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has defended the proposed bill as 'part of the government's broader security reform agenda'. The Hashd 'is an official Iraqi military institution operating under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces', Sudani said. A 2016 law already affords the Hashd the status of a public body. But some factions face accusations of collecting government salaries for their fighters on the one hand, but acting entirely independently of the state on the other. Some of the factions within the Hashd are aligned with Baghdad, while others pledge their allegiance first and foremost to the Tehran-led 'Axis of Resistance'. The latter have in the past launched rockets and explosive-laden drones at US troops stationed in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. Mansour said the Hashd was unlikely to morph into something that resembles Iran's Guards. It 'isn't a coherent institution', he said. 'It has many different groups, many different factions, many different leaders, and they're still fighting with each other.' Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source close to the armed factions told AFP that Shiite Muslim political parties seek a 'special law' that would guarantee the Hashd remains 'an independent military institution, on the same level as the interior or defence ministry'. Sunni Muslim and Kurdish politicians oppose any such move, and even among the Shiites there is no consensus, said the government official. Deputy parliament speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi said the proposed legislation 'contributes to enhancing the combat capabilities' of the Hashd and to 'creating new formations concerned with developing this security institution', according to the official Iraq News Agency. If approved, it would pave the way for the creation of a special military academy and secure the Hashd's 'financial independence', according to a parliament report published by state media. According to the report, the Iraqi state council noted the 'bloating' of administrative structures, and opposed the creation of such an academy for the Hashd instead of using existing defence ministry facilities. But with legislative elections coming up in November, the former paramilitaries may seek to seize on the chance to gain institutional recognition. The Hashd 'needs something to reinvigorate its base', said Mansour. 'The more the Hashd is institutionalised, the more access it has to Iraq's wealthy state coffers,' he added. 'This could become another mechanism for patronage.'
Saba Yemen
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Hashd condemns escalating Israeli crimes
Gaza – Saba: The International Committee for Supporting the Rights of the Palestinian People (Hashd) condemned the escalating crimes of the Israeli enemy against civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, calling on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the genocide. In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), the committee expressed its deep concern over "the continued perpetration of crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other grave violations by the Israeli enemy forces against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Saba Yemen
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Intel Body: Ongoing massacres against displaced in Gaza demand immediate global action
Occupied al-Quds - Saba: The International Commission to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People (Hashd) on Sunday affirmed that the continuous massacres committed by the Israeli enemy army against displaced Palestinians in shelters and displacement camps in the Gaza Strip necessitate immediate international action to halt the crime of genocide. In a statement, Hashd strongly condemned and denounced the Israeli enemy forces' continued perpetration of massacres against Palestinian civilians. The organization stated, "Israeli enemy aircraft and artillery continue to launch violent raids on various areas of the Gaza Strip, targeting displaced persons' tents and residential neighborhoods, leading to martyrs and injuries among Palestinians, and widespread destruction of infrastructure, coinciding with targeting aid seekers at distribution points." The international body's statement reviewed several massacres the enemy committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip over recent days, which resulted in hundreds martyred and thousands injured. Hashd called upon the international community, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, and the United Nations and its specialized agencies to work seriously to stop the genocide and Israeli aggression, ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, and provide international protection for civilians. Hashd also urged the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to swiftly issue arrest warrants against occupation leaders responsible for these crimes, and to avoid procrastination in exercising the Court's jurisdiction. The organization called on the United Nations and the Human Rights Council to form an urgent international investigative committee with broad powers to examine the massacres targeting displaced persons and hold perpetrators accountable. It stressed the international community must abandon its blatant inaction and impose sanctions on the Israeli entity to compel it to respect UN resolutions, the rules of international humanitarian law, and the measures of the International Court of Justice. Hashd further appealed to the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, UN organizations, and free people worldwide for urgent action to form an international coalition ensuring humanitarian intervention, given the Security Council's failure to compel the Israeli entity to cease targeting civilians, shelters, and displacement centers in the Gaza Strip, and to ensure international protection for Palestinians and halt the brutal and barbaric Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Saba Yemen
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Intel Organization: "Israel" continues to commit brutal genocide, starvation in Gaza with US support
Gaza – Saba: The International Organization for Supporting the Rights of the Palestinian People (Hashed) confirmed on Sunday that while Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Adha, the Israeli enemy forces continue their aggression and commit the most heinous crimes of genocide and brutal massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip for more than 610 consecutive days, with American support and partnership. The organization said in a statement that American support and partnership in the crimes of genocide against civilians in Gaza was manifested by its use of the veto against a draft resolution in the UN Security Council calling for an end to the genocide and ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid. The organization considered the American veto a green light that gives the Israeli entity the green light to continue committing crimes and grave violations against Palestinian civilians, in addition to continuing American arms exports to Israel and supporting the "American-Israeli" plan to distribute aid as an alternative to the work of international humanitarian organizations. Hashd called on the international community and the signatories to the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Convention to take immediate and urgent measures to halt the crime of genocide, ensure the unconditional flow of urgent humanitarian and medical aid under UN supervision, and abolish the illegal and immoral "American-Israeli" mechanism for distributing aid. It called on the countries of the world to boycott the Israeli entity and impose sanctions on it, including an arms embargo, hold its political and military leaders accountable before international courts, and support the work of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. It also called for immediate international protection for the residents of the Gaza Strip through the mechanisms of Chapter VII of the UN Charter and through the "United for Peace" formula to ensure the formation of an international humanitarian coalition and peacekeeping force within the framework of a vision to end the Israeli aggression, ensure the protection of civilians and civilian facilities, and provide humanitarian areas and corridors for the delivery of humanitarian and relief aid. Hashd stressed the need to enable UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations to perform their duties without restrictions or obstructions from the Israeli enemy, and to ensure the protection of its workers and other humanitarian workers. It urged civil society and human rights organizations in the United States to take action before the American and international courts to prosecute Americans responsible for and complicit in crimes committed against civilians, particularly American companies responsible for the distribution centers for American-Israeli aid. It also called on the free people of the world to continue their efforts and popular movements to pressure third countries to fulfill their moral and legal obligations to stop the genocidal war and Israeli aggression, support the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, end the Israeli aggression, and dismantle the racist settlement system. With American and European support, the Israeli enemy army has been committing genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 54,880 Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 126,227 others. This remains a preliminary toll, with thousands of victims still buried under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulances and rescue crews. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Saba Yemen
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
96% of water in Gaza Strip unfit for drinking
Gaza – Saba: The International Committee for Supporting the Rights of the Palestinian People (Hashed) stated that 96% of the water in the Gaza Strip is unfit for drinking, due to the complete collapse of infrastructure. In a policy paper, Hashd revealed an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the deliberate destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure by the Israeli enemy, and the prevention of the entry of fuel and aid, depriving millions of Palestinians of clean, drinkable water. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
