ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Rudaw's Majeed Gly has spoken to a former senior United Nations (UN) official about the UN's role in Iraq, and the issue of Iran-backed militias in the country. Hamid Abdeljaber worked with the UN for more than two decades, including in Iraq, where he survived the 2009 Canal Hotel bombing which killed 22 of his colleagues. He spoke to Gly about the UN's work in Iraq, and the current issues the country faces, caught between the United States and Iran. On Iran-backed groups behind a series of rocket attacks across the country, Abdeljaber said there is "no justification for these militias acting on its own" outside of Iraqi government policy. "The international community is looking to de-mobilise the militias and integrate them into the army or the police," he said, adding that Baghdad had the same aim. "So far, the Iraqi central government has failed to do so," he added.
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