The Iraqi government on Tuesday approved plans aimed at attracting Sunni volunteers for the fight against Islamic State and gaining control of controversial Shiite militias.
The cabinet voted to send a bill establishing a new National Guard, promised by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi when he took office in September, to parliament for approval.
A government source, who asked not to be named, said the guard would be recruited by authorities in each of the country’s 18 provinces, having regard to the local demographic make-up.
The first priority in recruitment would go to soldiers in Iraq’s previous armed forces, which were dissolved after the US-led invasion of 2003.
That decision was widely seen as leading to anger among Iraq’s Sunni minority, who were disproportionately affected.
The National Guard would also bring volunteers and unofficial pro-government armed groups under official oversight, the source said.
Large areas of Sunni-populated northern and western Iraq fell to Islamic State last year, with security forces collapsing as the jihadists launched a lightning summer offensive.
Weak government forces have since then been backed up by Shiite militias and by volunteers recruited in the mainly Shiite south of the country.
Rights groups have reported atrocities against Sunni civilians by the militias.
Local leaders in Sunni areas who are opposed to Islamic State have meanwhile complained that the government has not given them enough support.
Al-Abadi took over from former premier Nuri al-Maliki after pressure from political forces and Iraq’s allies for a more conciliatory approach to the Sunni Arab minority.
GNA
