The leader of the Iraqi Shiite movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, commented on Wednesday on the expiration of the deadline for the presence of American forces and international coalition forces in Iraq.
Muqtada al-Sadr said in a post on his official account on the “X” platform, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday evening: “We declare the independence of Iraq and the end of the era of the American presence and the international coalition once and for all, so thank God and thank you for the efforts of the first former resistance fighters, the Mujahideen and the Ansar.”
The leader of the Iraqi Shiite movement added: “We announce the immediate dissolution of the Promised Day Brigade, and the transformation of the Imam’s Army into the Ansar al-Imam Mahdi Foundation...”
Al-Sadr called on “the American army to compensate for all the damage that occurred due to its occupation of Iraqi lands, and that everyone must file legal complaints about this,” according to the Iraqi “INA” news agency, citing his statement.
Al-Sadr warned the United States and neighboring countries against "the consequences of interfering in Iraqi affairs, as this may lead to severing relations and reciprocity, especially in political and ideological affairs, and plunging Iraq into regional conflicts."
Muqtada Al-Sadr continued: “We hope that the United States will engage diplomatically in the same way, and not be condescending toward Iraq, its government, and its people.”
Al-Sadr indicated that the end of what he described as “occupation” requires the following:
- Confining weapons to the state through a public and thoughtful program with realistic, tangible results that are satisfactory to the people and the authority.
- I find it in the interests of political leaders to immediately resign and retire from political work, and to open the door for new faces, in order to end corruption and work on reform.
- Strengthening and activating all types of security forces, especially the border guards.
Al-Sadr's blog came after the Iraqi Prime Minister, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, announced on Wednesday that the mission of the international coalition forces to fight ISIS in Iraq had officially ended.
Al-Zaidi said, at an official ceremony in the capital, Baghdad: “We announce the end of the mission of the international coalition to fight ISIS, to prove that cooperation between friendly forces and friendly peoples has resulted in a victory over one of the darkest pages of extremism and brutality in history.”
Al-Zaidi added: "Today, Iraq is reaping the fruits of great sacrifices and heroic efforts that extended for years, until our various types of security services extended their control over the security and field scene throughout all parts of Iraq."
The international coalition against ISIS was formed in September 2014, after the organization invaded vast areas of Iraq, and the war extended until December 2017.
