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Iraq’s Maliki: Shia militia will fight in Syria if necessary

January 4, 2017 at 8:02 pm

Iraqi Vice President and Secretary-General of the Islamic Dawa Party Nouri Al-Maliki said the country’s Shia militias, the Popular Mobilisation Forces, will travel to Syrian territories “if the need arises”.

Al-Maliki made his remarks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on Monday.

“When we cleanse Mosul and the Iraqi territories from the terrorist group Daesh, the popular crowd can go to Syria and help our brothers eliminate this organisation,” he said.

Al-Maliki is widely criticised for his extremist sectarian policies. Daesh seized one-third of Iraq’s territories during his term as prime minister.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al- Abadi has previously appealed to the Popular Mobilisation Forces not to interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accuse the Shia militias of committing grave abuses against Sunni civilians in areas they retake from Daesh.