🔻Kataib Hezbollah, as U.S. troops leave Iraq at the same time: We are not committed to any timetable for disarmament

The Iran-backed Iraqi militias announced that, for handing over their weapons to the government, they are “not committed to any timetable or agreement.”

Jaafar al-Husseini, the military spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, said at a ceremony marking the departure of the forces of the coalition led by the United States that these groups have been negotiating with the government about the “organizing” of their weapons, but “they have not yet received an answer from the Iraqi government.”

He said: “On this basis, the Islamic resistance announces that it is not committed to any timetable or agreement that any of the governmental or political parties have discussed—or may in the future discuss.”

The Iraqi government, under increasing pressure from the United States, is trying to disarm these groups.

The last U.S. forces have left Iraq, ending more than two decades of U.S. military presence in that country.

This withdrawal was agreed upon two years ago by Joe Biden, then the U.S. president, and was one of the Iraqi government’s main demands.

With the end of the mission of U.S.-led forces against jihadist groups, around 100 British military personnel who had been stationed in Iraq have also left the country.

The Iraqi government has described this move as the “completion of national sovereignty,” and has promised disarmament of the militias.

Hashtags: ["BBC Persian"]