Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Sunday, an Iraqi Sunni tribal alliance criticized an unspecified armed faction for refusing to surrender weapons to the state.

In a statement, the Iraq Awakening (Sahwat Al-Iraq) Council, a coalition of Sunni tribes that fought Al-Qaeda alongside US forces during the 2007–2008 surge, praised several factions that it said had complied with Supreme Judicial Council Chief Faiq Zidan’s call to restrict arms to state control.

The Council, however, singled out one faction it did not name, accusing it of “rebellion” against judicial guidance and describing its stance as a direct challenge to state authority.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned group, said a day earlier it would only discuss disarmament after the withdrawal of US, NATO, and Turkish forces from Iraq. Other groups, including Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya, And Ktaib Imam Ali, have voiced cooperation with the judicial guidance.

Keeping weapons outside state authority while maintaining what the Council described as “external ties” could not be justified under any national or political cover, the statement added, pointing to the group’s own experience fighting terrorism as a model. “Our weapons operated solely under orders from the General Command of the Armed Forces and were never used outside the law or for factional or political ends.”

Disarming armed groups, many with close ties to Iran, has long been a source of tension in Iraqi politics and a consistent demand by the United States. The issue is expected to feature in discussions with US Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya, who is visiting Baghdad “in the coming days.”

Read more: Why Iraq’s PMF disarmament is a different battle from Lebanon’s Hezbollah