Iraq PM sets up security team to tackle Shia militia targeting Syrians who support new gov’t

An Iraqi Shia militia has been assaulting Syrians who express support for the new president and government in their country, prompting Baghdad to set up a security team to counter such actions.

According to media reports, a new and previously unknown Shia militia named ‘Ya Ali Popular Formations’ has been following the activities of Syrians on social media who have been “praising” the rule of Syria’s new interim government and its President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, as well as the Syrian forces’ security campaign against former Assad regime loyalists in the country’s coastal areas.

They then track the Syrian refugees down and confront, interrogate, beat and abuse them. In one video circulating on social media, masked men dressed in black – with uniforms decorated with badges and insignia – can be seen breaking into a bakery run by Syrians before slapping one of the workers and checking their phones.

Iranian-backed militia members in Iraq have formed a new group “Tashkelat Ya Ali”, their mission is to track down ordinary Syrian refugees at their workplaces in Iraq and violently abuse them, some have been taken to unknown locations. #Syria pic.twitter.com/vCkc3EWi6C

— Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) March 11, 2025

A statement issued by the new militia reportedly called on the Iraqi government to act against Syrians supporting the new Syrian administration and its President Al-Sharaa.

Following the militia’s actions, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani yesterday condemned the assault, referring to it as “shameful acts of violence against a number of Syrian brothers working in Iraq”.

Al-Sudani also revealed that he has ordered the “formation of a specialised security team to pursue those who commit these illegal acts that have nothing to do with the morals of Iraqis.”

The Iraqi premier’s announcement came as Syria’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the militia’s targeting of Syrian refugees, referring to the assaults as “violations of human rights and international law” against Syrians in Iraq. “We call on the Iraqi government to hold accountable the perpetrators of these crimes and take all necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of Syrians residing in Iraq,” the ministry stated.

The Iraqi judiciary has issued an arrest warrant for Al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre as Abu Mohammad Al-Julani. Before leading forces to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Al-Sharaa “was detained in Iraq by US forces during his affiliation with Al-Qaeda between 2007 and 2008. However, he was later released by the Americans without any involvement from Iraqi authorities or judicial rulings against him at the time,” sources told the Shafaq News Agency.

“After detainees confessed to various terrorism charges involving al-Julani, an arrest warrant was issued against him years ago, although no court verdict has been rendered,” they added.

Al-Sharaa has denied involvement in Iraq’s past sectarian conflicts.

READ: Former Iraq PM calls for Shia intervention into Syria to oppose the ‘great sedition’