Al-Sudani said that the end of the mission of foreign forces is necessary for the security and stability of Iraq (European)

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani called on Thursday to set a timetable to end the mission of the international coalition against ISIS, after the tension raised by American strikes against Iraqi factions, in response to their targeting of bases housing American forces in Iraq and Syria.

In a speech he delivered during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Al-Sudani said that the end of the mission of foreign forces is necessary for the security and stability of the country and to maintain constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the coalition countries.

He reiterated the position he had expressed repeatedly recently that there were no longer justifications for the coalition’s existence, indicating that ISIS did not represent a threat to Iraq.

The Iraqi Prime Minister called for the immediate start of a dialogue leading to an understanding on arranging a timetable for ending the mission of international advisors.

Al-Sudani revealed that arranging the end of the international coalition’s mission was the focus of a visit by a delegation headed by the Iraqi Defense Minister to Washington in August 2023, “which resulted in the formation of a bilateral committee that was supposed to study the withdrawal of international advisors,” but with the events of October 7 The first past event (the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood) prevented this, and the meetings stopped.

As part of the repercussions of the war on Gaza, what is known as the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” carried out repeated attacks on bases in Iraq, including the Ain al-Assad and Erbil bases, and others in Syria, including al-Shaddadi, Tal al-Baidar, and al-Tanf.

The United States responded with strikes targeting factions described as loyal to Iran and affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, including Iraqi Hezbollah, resulting in deaths, and Baghdad denounced them as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

Washington deploys about 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, within the framework of the international coalition, and since late 2021, Baghdad has announced the end of the coalition’s combat mission and its transformation into an “advisory” mission.

According to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), its forces in Iraq and Syria have been subjected to more than 130 attacks since last October 17.

Source: Agencies