Alwaght- Deploying Popular Mobilization Forces, Hashd al-Shabi, to clear ISIS-held cities of Fallujah and Mosul is the most efficient option to clear Fallujah and Mosul from ISIS terrorists, top Sunni tribal fighters told Middle East Eye (MEE).
Since the onset of Fallujah operation on 22 May, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have played decisive role to eject ISIS terrorists from villages around Fallujah and complete the besiege of the terror group's stronghold, but Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, under the US pressure, chose to sideline the organization .
While the US pressurizes Iraq's Prime Minister to relegate PMF, claiming that involvement of the Shiite-dominated group may fuel sectarian conflicts, Sunni fighters fighting with the PMF's Ali Akbar Brigades told MEE that they believe PMF is critical to the success of the fight against the terrorist group.
Abu Ezaaz, a tribal leader from Alam in northern Iraq, said the PMF is the most efficient option for entering ISIS-held territories.
Ezaaz is also the government liaison for the Ali Akbar Brigades under the oversight of the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala which originally set up the brigades. In March 2015, he led a contingent of around 150 fighters in taking back his hometown, north of Tikrit, from ISIS.
MEE cited Abu Ezaaz as saying “Hashd al-Shabi (PMF) are very clean fighters, very human”.
“For example, if some sniper is fighting you, the Hashd al-Shabi will try to use snipers against them, but if the military intervene, the city will be destroyed. If bullets come from a place, they will bomb and air strike that place.”
The PMUs have been involved in clearing the surrounding area of ISIS forces but have been prevented from taking part in attempting to enter the city centre.
"The Hashed al-Shaabi forces have already done their part by liberating hundreds of square kilometers and surrounding the militants who are inside the city," Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command in charge of the military and PMF operations, told AFP.
"Only the commander-in-chief of the armed forces has the authority to decide who should be involved in breaching operations."
Ezaaz rejected sectarian fears saying, his experience of the Ali Akbar Brigades and their recapturing of Baiji makes local Sunnis to be grateful to PMF.
He recommended repeating the strategy for Fallujah and the IS stronghold of Mosul, which is less than 200km from Baiji.
“My suggestion is to let the Hashd al-Shabi liberate these places, to make the city 80 percent safe, and then build unity among Iraqis, like what happened here,” he said, commenting on PMF rolr in Fallujah and Mosul.
Abu Ezaaz, a Sunni tribal leader, near a memorial to IS atrocities near Tikrit (MEE/Alex MacDonald)Other PMf and tribal leaders in Baiji also told MEE that they believe the current strategy being pursued by the Iraqi government was ineffective.
Abdul Zair Arwan, commander of the Baiji branch of the Ali Akbar Brigades, said the PMf was much better positioned to retake Fallujah.
“If Hashd al-Shabi is given the right to access the city, we can liberate it within two or three days, no more," he told MEE.
Abdul Zair Arwan highlighted the US and some regional countries' role in deterring Fallujah operation as he said "Because of the agenda of our neighbors and super powers, who have many agents inside Fallujah, they don't want the Hashd al-Shabi to take the place."
One of the leaders of the Jaisat tribe in Baiji, who are allied to the Ali Akbar Brigades, also condemned the decision to refuse the PMF access to the fighting and said that tribal fighters and PMf should be allowed to help liberate Mosul.
“We have relatives in the city, we have families in the city and we see the city is under occupation by IS,” said Hamid Amrisi.
“We have good power, good weapons, brave people – we want to go and liberate the city. Why is the international city stopping us from going, like in Fallujah?"
“The military is not strong enough to have such fighting alone. They need us.”
The difficulties obstructing the path that leads to the liberation of Fallujah are many. Despite these obstacles, however, the Iraqi army along with the Popular Mobilization Forces is ready to surmount the stumbling blocks to reach the heart of Fallujah. As the battle for Fallujah intensifies, it is clear that while the fight is far from being unproblematic, it is within reach.
