By Christa Wägemann Since the crushing fall of Mosul in northern Iraq to ISIS in June 2014, Shi’a militias, with the aid of neighboring Iran, have come to play the leading role in the battle for Iraq. Though this is not a new phenomenon, militias in Iraq have made considerable strides cementing themselves as a political instrument to gain power and legitimacy. In 2014, the Iraqi religious Shi’a leader Ayatollah Sistani pronounced a fatwa (religious ruling) for Iraqis to defend their country against ISIS, leading local groups to take up arms and mushroom into more new groups. Since then, Iraqi militias have reorganized themselves to be regulated under an umbrella organization called the Popular Mobilization Front (PMF), led by the National Security Advisor, Falih al-Fayyadh. As of yet however, al-Fayyadh’s role appears to be solely administrative leaving the PMF under the control of Iraq’s clergy and political parties. According to a local source, there are now 65,000 volunteers, including 17,000 Sunni tribesmen, who all operate in the Popular Mobilization Front under the Iraqi Commander in Chief, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The militia alignment The militia-political alignment in Iraq predates the…
Militias in Iraq: Leading the Fight Against ISIS Despite Divisions
October 21, 2015
