By official edict – dated August 18 and signed by Muhandis – brigade commanders were ordered to withdrew all Hashd forces from these cities.
“All bases are to be evacuated and all offices, under whatever name they be, are all to be closed in cities, especially in areas that have been liberated,” the order reads.
No brigade is allowed to open new bases or offices, or station forces in cities and areas outside designated operational sectors, it adds.
All brigades were also ordered to sever connections with parties, organizations, and even religious institutions that have supported their formation.
In the disputed or Kurdistani areas, the Hashd recruited Yezidis, Christians, Shabaks, and Kakais.
“Those brigades that hang on to their loyalty and ties to their supporters will be dealt with as a force outside of the Hashd al-Shaabi commission, and its case will be referred to his Excellency the commander-in-chief of the armed forces to make the appropriate decision against them,” added Muhandis, referencing Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Major Sunni politicians have asked for the Hashd, a sectarian Shiite-led paramilitary group, to be evicted from their cities, saying stability cannot be established where its forces are present.
Last week, reports indicated the Hashd was withdrawing from cities in Nineveh. However, head of force deployments Jawad Kadhim denied any such plan, claiming Hashd in these areas were merely restructuring.
The Hashd was formed following a call by Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the summer of 2014 when ISIS captured several Iraqi provinces. The nation’s most powerful Shiite cleric urged civilians to take up arms and fight the group’s expansion.
The Iraqi parliament voted in November 2016 to recognize the Hashd as an official part of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
Sistani in December called on the Hashd to come under the full command of the Iraqi military, adding the state must have exclusive authority over all armed forces.
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