Al-Maliki’s parliamentary bloc denies reports of forming armed faction

BAGHDAD — Yasser Al-Maliki, head of the State of Law parliamentary bloc, denied claims that Nouri Al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, is forming a new armed faction.

In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Al-Maliki stated, “Nouri Al-Maliki contributed to the formation and armament of all branches of the armed forces.”

He added, “If we had intended to form armed factions, we would not have supported the security forces, nor would we have missed previous opportunities to do so.”.

The denial follows a report by Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper alleging that Nouri Al-Maliki plans to establish a new armed group called “Sons of the State” in light of recent developments in Syria.

According to sources cited by Al-Akhbar, “Al-Maliki’s move stems from increasing international and regional pressure to dismantle armed factions, dissolve the Popular Mobilization Forces, and integrate them into official security institutions. This pressure could position Iraq, after Syria, as a candidate for regime change or political restructuring by international powers, primarily the United States.”

These allegations emerge amid increasing local and international calls for the dismantling of the Popular Mobilization Forces. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has rejected foreign pressures to disband the PMF, stating, “It is unacceptable to make demands and impose conditions on Iraq, especially when it comes to dismantling the PMF.”

Yasser Al-Maliki’s post on X:

Nouri Al-Maliki contributed to the formation and armament of all branches of the armed forces. If we had intended to form armed factions, we would not have supported the security forces, nor would we have missed previous opportunities to do so.