Framework mediates between al-Zaidi and Kataib Hezbollah over Jurf al-Sakhr
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Leaders of Iraq's ruling Coordination Framework have started mediating between Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Kataib Hezbollah to calm tensions and reach a deal for the armed faction's full withdrawal from Jurf al-Sakhr (Jurf al-Nasr), a source familiar with the matter told Shafaq News on Sunday.
The mediators are State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, Badr Organization Secretary-General Hadi al-Amiri and Islamic Supreme Council leader Humam Hamoudi, the source said.
“The mediators hope to reach a deal within two days that would put a mix of security forces and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units into the area. Under that arrangement, Kataib Hezbollah would pull out gradually, and the new forces would take over full security control.”
On Saturday, the Iraqi government announced that the investigation committee had confirmed oil-smuggling allegations and identified refining facilities in Jurf al-Sakhr. Following the findings, al-Zaidi dismissed nine senior security and administrative officials in Babil and ordered suspects implicated in the alleged smuggling operations to be referred to the judiciary.
The statement did not name Kataib Hezbollah precisely.
Informed government and political sources told Shafaq News that Al-Zaidi has given Kataib Hezbollah until the end of this week to hand full security responsibility for the area to government forces, warning of possible military intervention.
Al-Zaidi, who also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, conveyed the deadline to mediators from the PMF and the Framework, according to the sources, who said that he intends to assign special forces from the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) to establish full security and military control over the subdistrict in northern Babil province in the coming days if mediation fails.
Kataib Hezbollah on Sunday rejected the findings of a government investigation into alleged oil smuggling in Jurf al-Sakhr, accusing al-Zaidi's administration of fabricating allegations to pressure the armed group into surrendering its weapons.
The group insisted that Jurf al-Sakhr and the issue of "resistance weapons" must remain outside political disputes, accusing the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United States of exerting pressure through al-Zaidi's government.
Read more: Why Jurf al-Sakhr remains beyond Baghdad's full control
According to Kataib Hezbollah, a technical committee that inspected the area found “no illegal interference” with oil pipelines, contradicting the government's account of the investigation.
