Exclusive: Coordination Framework split into three factions over armed groups
Shafaq News- Baghdad
A late-night meeting of Iraq's Coordination Framework leaders ended in internal three-way division over the question of armed factions, an anonymous source within the group told Shafaq News, as leaders simultaneously reached agreement on supporting the Kurdish House's candidate for the Iraqi presidency.
The meeting, held at the Baghdad office of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, extended into late hours on Monday and was attended by the full leadership of the coalition, including Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Alliance.
Armed Factions
According to the source, the Coordination Framework is currently split into three camps: one purely political with no militia ties, a second that backs unnamed armed factions, and a third that neither operates nor sponsors any armed group.
Against that backdrop, Framework leaders agreed that members arrested or implicated in armed operations must be referred to the judiciary and prosecuted under Iraqi law, with no exemption granted based on political immunity or affiliation, the source said.
Parliamentary Session and Presidency Candidate
The source said participants discussed the necessity of committing to the parliamentary session scheduled for April 11 and reached an agreement on supporting the Kurdish House's candidate for the presidency of the republic.
The meeting did not address replacing the Framework's candidate for the prime ministership, nor did it discuss directing Framework lawmakers to vote for caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the event his mandate is put to a renewal vote, according to the source.
Tripartite Committee
Leaders also reviewed the progress of negotiations led by a tripartite committee formed by the Coordination Framework under the leadership of Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr Organization, the source said. The committee's mandate is “to prevent armed factions from targeting foreign diplomatic missions, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, or US interests in the country, and to ensure Iraq is not drawn into the ongoing conflict.”
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