Militias in trouble ... the "Farhati massacre" tightens the screws on "Asaib"

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Militias in trouble ... the "Farhati massacre" tightens the screws on "Asaib"

 

Free / Exclusive - Washington

October 20, 2020

 

 

Popular pressure to hold accountable the militias that carried out the massacre of Farhati and Al-Kazimi, promises to pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice

Days after the "al-Farhati massacre," it seems that the noose is gradually tightening on the "Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq" militia, which runs "security" in the area through its brigades of the Popular Mobilization Forces. 

In contrast to similar events, the families of the victims explicitly accused Asa'ib Forces and its 42nd Brigade, which operates within the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Authority, of being responsible for the massacre.

The father of one of the victims assures that the perpetrators of the #Salahaddin massacre are the #IMIS Asa'ib militia, led by Qais Khazali. #BaghdadPost #SalahaddinMassacre #Iraq | # Popular Mobilization Terrorist Organization # Iraq # Salah al-Din massacre # Al-Farhati crime pic.twitter.com/H6WkRhrCNv

- The Baghdad Post (@BaghdadPostPlus) October 18, 2020

 

Politicians, including former allies of the militia, rose on Monday, criticizing the "state militias." The deputy in the Iraqi parliament from Salah al-Din Governorate, Mishaan al-Jubouri, said on Twitter that "the state militias that committed the crime of Farhati are extracting oil from wells in the area, known as the South Balad field, and selling it to its account."

Do the governors and leaders of the country know that the state militias that committed the crime of Al-Farhati extract oil from the wells in the region, known as the "South Balad field" and sell it to their account, and that the sectarian cleansing that they are practicing aims to get rid of the residents who witness the theft !?

- Mishaan Al-Jabouri (@mashanaljabouri) October 19, 2020

 

Al-Jubouri, a former militia ally and father of a leader in the Popular Mobilization Forces, Yazan al-Jubouri, added, "The sectarian cleansing practiced by (the militias) aims to get rid of the population who witnessed the theft."

According to al-Jubouri, one of the leaders of those militias told Prime Minister Al-Kazemi during his visit to Saladin after the massacre that they “are not part of the authority of the General Command (of the armed forces) and that they have their authority.”

It seems that the massacre, which killed at least eight people, and four people are still unknown, was greater than "the militia's ability to swallow," according to analysts who spoke to Al-Hurra.

"The statements of the Secretary-General of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Faleh Al-Fayyad, are an unprecedented development," said Muhannad Salam, a journalist and Iraqi.

On Monday, Al-Fayadh said in a television interview on the state-run Al-Iraqiya channel that "the Secretary General of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Qais Khazali, pledged to cooperate with the investigation," adding that Khazali said, "We will not cover up anyone."

Al-Fayyad also pledged to reach those who "made easy and covered up the crime," and did not rule out the possibility of transferring the Asaib brigades from the area to other places and replacing them with other brigades.

Activists have criticized Fayyad’s presence at the victims ’funeral council, whose factions accuse him of being responsible for the killings. Where he went with the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

Your Excellency the Prime Minister, why do you take the head of the crowd with you?
The crowd is an accused party in this case, and forcing the people of the city to deal with a party to whom the killing of their children is attributed will increase tension and anger.
If it is just an accusation, the testimonies of the families must be taken seriously in those accusations. https://t.co/dykrZYFTOn

- Rasha Alazawe (@Rasha_Alazawe) October 18, 2020

According to Salam, the explicit mention of Asaib represents an "unprecedented" admission of evidence against it. Otherwise, "official agencies are known to always deny the crimes they are involved in."

The Asa'ib militia tried to accuse ISIS of carrying out the massacre, and said that its guard post had been attacked before the kidnapping of civilians from Al-Farhatiyah, but the local and official authorities in the governorate denied this information.

The families of the victims of Al-Farhatia cry for their children

The United States condemned, on Monday, the "massacre" committed by pro-Iranian militias against civilians in the Iraqi province of Salah al-Din, which killed at least eight people, and demanded the Iraqi government to control the militias.

Residents of the Iraqi province of Salah al-Din (north of Baghdad) woke up, on Saturday, to news that an armed party had kidnapped 12 people from the Farhati district of Balad district, and the police found the bodies of eight of them and it was clear that they were "executed in the field", while the fate of the other four remains unknown.

The governor of Salah al-Din, Ammar Jaber Khalil, said on Saturday that the finger of blame points to "a known party on the ground."

 

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, pledged during his visit to Salah al-Din governorate to hold accountable the perpetrators who committed the "Farhati crime", but the matter did not ease the anger of the street, as members of the "Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq" militia were accused of being responsible for the massacre.

Al-Kazemi decided to "refer those responsible for the forces holding the land to the investigation, due to the failure in their security duties."

Iraqi observers and analysts warned in tweets that any leniency by Al-Kazemi in dealing with the "crime of Al-Farhati" would have serious repercussions on the security of citizens, indicating that the incident may inflame the already tense situation in the country.