ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY IRAQI lawmakers have signed a draft bill, demanding the withdrawal of US military forces from the country following the assassination of Iran’s top military commander, Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, and the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
On Sunday, the legislators used an extraordinary parliamentary session to push for a vote on a resolution requiring the government to press Washington to withdraw US troops from Iraq.
The lawmakers, citing Articles 59 and 109 of the Constitution and in line with their national and regulatory responsibilities as representatives to safeguard the security and sovereignty of Iraq, signed a four-point draft bill as follows:
- Firstly, the central government in Baghdad is obliged to cancel its request to the US-led military coalition, which was purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist on the grounds, now that military operations have ended in the country, and victory over Daesh has been achieved. The Iraqi government should therefore put an end to the presence of any foreign troops and prevent the use of the Iraqi airspace.
- Secondly, the government and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces must announce the number of foreign trainers they need, along with their locations, responsibilities, and duration of their contracts.
- Thirdly, the Iraqi foreign minister, on behalf of the government, must turn to the United Nations and the Security Council to file a complaint against the United States for violations of the Iraqi sovereignty and security.
Finally, the plan comes into force once it obtains the parliamentary approval.
On Saturday, the leader of a powerful political coalition in Iraq’s parliament said US forces will be driven out of Iraqi territory following the vicious, cowardly US operation.
‘We offer our condolences to the adherents of Hashd al-Sha’abi and all Iraqis over the martyrdom of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, General Soleimani and a number of young valiant men.
‘This is the path of martyrdom, and we hereby declare that we will continue to tread it. We have no reservations whatsoever in this regard,’ Hadi al-Ameri, who is the head of the Fatah Conquest Alliance, told reporters as he participated in the funeral ceremony for the fallen heroes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Saturday.
‘We will defeat Americans and drive them out, as we did earlier in the face of Daesh. We will expel Americans right before Iraqis’ eyes as they will be frustrated and humiliated.
‘We will press ahead with this struggle. We don’t have any option but to fully restore Iraq’s sovereignty,’ added Ameri, who is also the secretary general of the Badr Organisation.