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Six armed groups lay down arms in Iraq
By Ali Al-Mawsawi
Azzaman, January 1, 2012
Six armed groups have decided to join the political process in Iraq and give up their armed resistance of government troops, a senior official said.
Amer al-Khuzaai, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s adviser on national reconciliation, said the government’s plan to lure armed groups to join the political process was bearing fruit.
The news that six armed groups have agreed to compete through the ballot rather than the bullet has come one day after it was officially declared in Baghdad that the last U.S. soldier had left the country.
A leader of one of the groups, Mahdi al-Somaidi, said there was no longer a need to carry arms since the U.S. occupiers have left the country.
“The events that took place in Iraq were because of the occupation. The nation that wants to live in dignity must put these events behind and proceed ahead,” Somaidi said. “Some resisted with their discourse, other with guns. We all succeeded in driving the occupiers out of the country. History is never embarrassed or ashamed of resisting foreign occupation.”
Khuzaai said the groups, among them big names such as the Iraqi Hizbollah, the Islamic Army and Ansar (supporters) of Sunna, “have vowed to respect the law and the constitution, hand it their weapons and fight terror.”
He said the government has already withdrawn “large quantities of weapons” from the armed groups that have decided to join national reconciliation.
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By Ali Al-Mawsawi
Azzaman, January 1, 2012
Six armed groups have decided to join the political process in Iraq and give up their armed resistance of government troops, a senior official said.
Amer al-Khuzaai, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s adviser on national reconciliation, said the government’s plan to lure armed groups to join the political process was bearing fruit.
The news that six armed groups have agreed to compete through the ballot rather than the bullet has come one day after it was officially declared in Baghdad that the last U.S. soldier had left the country.
A leader of one of the groups, Mahdi al-Somaidi, said there was no longer a need to carry arms since the U.S. occupiers have left the country.
“The events that took place in Iraq were because of the occupation. The nation that wants to live in dignity must put these events behind and proceed ahead,” Somaidi said. “Some resisted with their discourse, other with guns. We all succeeded in driving the occupiers out of the country. History is never embarrassed or ashamed of resisting foreign occupation.”
Khuzaai said the groups, among them big names such as the Iraqi Hizbollah, the Islamic Army and Ansar (supporters) of Sunna, “have vowed to respect the law and the constitution, hand it their weapons and fight terror.”
He said the government has already withdrawn “large quantities of weapons” from the armed groups that have decided to join national reconciliation.
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