Shafaq News- Baghdad

Ammar al-Hakim, head of Iraq’s National State Forces Alliance, called on Sunday for the issue of weapons outside state institutions to be addressed through “Iraqi mechanisms and timelines” during talks with US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Fagin in Baghdad.

Al-Hakim stressed that efforts to bring weapons under state control should be guided by Iraq’s national interests, describing the process as a “constitutional obligation.”

In August, al-Hakim said, during talks with then-US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris, that arms held by factions should be transferred to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi previously linked efforts to restrict faction weapons to the Sept. 30 end of the US-led Coalition’s mission, arguing that the departure of foreign forces would remove one of the factions’ main justifications for remaining armed.

Read more: Iraq factions resist disarmament as coalition exit nears