The Hindu : International : Militias agree to disband, says Allawi

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Tuesday, Jun 08, 2004

International

International

Militias agree to disband, says Allawi

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, JUNE 7. Without getting a commitment from a key Shia group that has battled the U.S. occupation, the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, has said that a large number of armed groups that had opposed the former President Saddam Hussein had agreed to disband.

Meanwhile, a huge blast rocked a mosque compound in the Shia stronghold of Kufa on Monday — the scene of heavy clashes between the Mehdi Army and U.S. troops in recent weeks. The blast appeared to have been caused when ammunition stored by the Mehdi army caught fire, eyewitnesses said. Three persons died and 12 were wounded in the blast, hospital sources said.

Around 100,000 fighters will either join the security forces or get back to civilian life, Mr. Allawi said. But the Mehdi army loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Al Sadr, that revolted against the American occupation in April is not part of the deal. The Sunni groups of Central Iraq also do not appear to have featured in the new arrangement. The major groups that have agreed to rework their relationship with the new dispensation are the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who have a formidable presence in northern Iraq.

The Badr brigades — the armed wing of the Shia group, The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is also part of the deal that involves nine groups. "As of now, all armed forces outside of state control, as provided by this order, are illegal," Mr. Allawi said. "Those that have chosen violence and lawlessness over transition and reintegration will be dealt with harshly."

Mr. Allawi's statement followed more violence at the weekend, in which foreign militants were allegedly involved. At least six Iraqis were killed and dozens were injured by a car bomb blast outside the gates of a U.S. base at Taji, north of Baghdad.

Two Americans and two Poles were killed on Saturday in another incident. Suspected Al-Qaeda operative, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group claimed responsibility for both the attacks. At least 12 Iraqis and one British citizen also died in separate attacks.

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