Iraq says it will disarm only when US forces leave
(VOVWORLD) - Iraq has pledged to bring all weapons under the control of the state, but that will not work so long as there is a US-led coalition in the country that some Iraqi factions view as an occupying force, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.
 Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (Photo:REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani) |
The PM said a plan was still in place to have the multinational anti-Islamic State coalition leave Iraq completely.
The US military earlier this month began drawing down its mission in Iraq under an agreement with the Iraqi government signed last September in an effort to transition to a long-term US-Iraq security partnership.
Prime Minister Al-Sudani pledged to disband non-state armed groups, saying they can either join the national security forces or take part in politics provided they lay down their weapons.