RNA - "The Popular Mobilization Forces are sons of Iraq, whose sacrifices in the war against ISIL terrorists are immeasurable, and they deserve the “highest merits,” Ibrahim al-Jafari said, reported.
“The popular forces (locally known as Hashd al-Shaabi) suffered huge losses, shed their precious blood for the sake of saving the Fatherland,” the official said.
“These forces voluntarily went to other parts of Iraq and have been dying there. For what? What did they want to get there? They deserve the highest merits. These formations have the constitutional status and the real military presence on the ground.”
Recent demands by the US urging the forces to “go home”are a glaring example of US hypocrisy, al-Jafari stated.
“The US is playing its own game, by own rules and relying on certain factions. Iraq, though, operates in its own territory within its own powers, relying on support of it sons, its political parties and movements, on support of those who sacrifice themselves for the good of their country,” the minister told RT.
The demands were voiced by US State Secretary Rex Tillerson last Sunday at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir in Riyadh following a meeting with senior Saudi and Iraqi officials.
“Now that the fight against… ISIL is coming to a close, those forces need to go home,” Tillerson said, referring to the PMF units."
Tillerson’s demand was met by a firm rejection from Baghdad, which condemned Washington’s interference into internal affairs of their country.
“No party has the right to interfere in Iraqi matters,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s said Monday, according to a Facebook statement issued by his office.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis joined PMF units in 2014. Though there are no official statistics, PMF units numbered up to 100,000 members, according to some estimates.
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