Iraqi Caretaker PM Denounces U.S. Sanctions

Date: 15 December 2019 - 22:02

News ID: ۷۳۹۶۷

BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has condemned the inclusion of Iraqi figures in a list of U.S. sanctions despite their role in combating the Daesh terrorists group.
"We reject and denounce the inclusion of the names of Iraqi leaders and figures known for their history and political role in the fight against the Daesh in sanction lists by countries with which we have relations and agreements,” Abdul Mahdi said in a statement by his office.
On December 6, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced sanctions on Qais al-Khazali and his brother Laith, two leaders of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, as well as Hussein Falil Aziz al-Lami of Kata’ib Hezbollah.
Both factions are part of Hashd al-Sha’abi, an umbrella paramilitary group that has actively cooperated with the national army in sweeping counter-terrorism operations.
Iraqi businessman and political figure Khamis al-Khanjar was also included in the U.S. sanctions list over alleged bribery.
The U.S. Treasury accused the individuals of "widespread forced disappearances, abductions, killings, and torture,” saying the punitive measures block their financial transactions with and travel to America.
Thousands of supporters of the Iraqi pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) staged a rally in the capital Baghdad on Saturday to express their resentment over the United States’ interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.
Supporters of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, which is part of the PMU – better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, converged on Firdos Square in the heart of Baghdad, which became world-renowned when Iraqis pulled down the statue of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein there following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and walked on a makeshift U.S. flag during a demonstration against the U.S. sanctions on the group’s leader Qais Khazali.
"We denounce this unjust decision. It is an act of interference, and against a nationalist personality,” Mahmoud al-Rubae’i, a member of the political bureau of al-Sadiqoun Bloc, which represents Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq in the Iraqi parliament, told AFP.
Iraqi lawmakers also denounced Washington’s move on December 6 to impose sanctions on the individuals and groups that operate as part of the country’s Popular Mobilization Units.