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Shia militia in Iraq From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saraya al-Salam (Arabic: سرايا السلام)[17][18] is an Iraqi Shia militia formed in 2014. They are a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces and are a partial revival of the Mahdi Army. The name Saraya al-Salam means "Peace Brigades", to signify this the militia also uses a dove as a heraldic symbol. The group's name, together with its logo – which features a dove flying in front of an Iraqi flag – reflects Sadr's effort to maintain a peace with both Sunnis and the Iraqi central government.[7] As of 2022, the group's operations are frozen, although it is still active but in smaller scale.
| Saraya al-Salam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founding leader | Muqtada al-Sadr |
| Foundation | 2014 |
| Dates of operation | 2014–2021 (as a Popular Mobilization Forces branch) 2021–2022 (as a semi-governmental political initiative) |
| Country | Iraq Syria[10] |
| Allegiance |  Iraq |
| Ideology | Shia Islamism Iraqi nationalism Sadrism |
| Size | 10,000–50,000 (2014, independent claims)[11][12] |
| Part of |
|
| Allies | Other Shia militias (de jure) None (de facto)[13] |
| Opponents |  Islamic State Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (2022)[14] |
| Battles and wars | Iraq–ISIL War ISIL insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) |
| Flag |  Flag of Iraq, used by the group along with the dove.[7] |
Muqtada al-Sadr, son of an anti-Saddam activist Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr who, after his newspaper al-Hamza was shut down by Coalition Provisional Authority, founded his first militia organization Mahdi Army that got support from both Sunni and Shia elements of Iraqi society uniting them against the coalition forces in occasions such as First Battle of Fallujah and Siege of Sadr City, the slogans and banners carrying propaganda in support of Sadr and Mahdi army were present in both occasions.[19][20]
After Siege of Sadr City, Muqtada al-Sadr Sadr and his supporters, the Sadrists, went into silence except for resurgence in different group names such as the Special Groups which did had Sadrist influence however were loyal to Iraqi government eventually with considerable Iranian-influence rather than an independent ideology.[21]
Sadr reformed his militia forces in 2014,[17] to protect Shia shrines from the Islamic State.[22] This new militia was almost entirely formed from the Mahdi Army remnants. According to Faleh A. Jabar and Renad Mansour, the Sadrists have largely been cut off from Iranian funding.[21]
In June 2014, these Peace Companies marched in Sadr City, a slum in Baghdad infamous for being the prime Mahdi Army center of operations during the Iraq War.[23] In addition to guarding shrines, the Peace Companies participated in offensive operations such as the recapture of Jurf Al Nasr in October 2014.[24] They suspended their activities temporarily in February 2015,[24] but were active in the Second Battle of Tikrit in March.[25]
The Peace Brigades announced that they were able to liberate large areas of Jurf al-Sakhar and later announced the handover of all these liberated areas to the security forces. The Peace Brigades were frozen by Muqtada al-Sadr until further notice in a statement he issued on February 17, 2015, and al-Sadr announced on 8 March 2015, with a statement published by his office about lifting the freeze and involving Saraya al-Salam fighters in the Mosul operations
After that statement, the brigade fighters also captured large areas on Samarra and Al-Ishaqi Island in Saladin Governorate and were responsible for liberating what remained of them.
Jurf al-Sakhar is a district about 60 km southwest of Baghdad. It forms a border triangle between northern Babylon, eastern Anbar, and southern Baghdad. It is located on the Euphrates River and is characterized by its vast agricultural lands. It was controlled by ISIS, and its members used to launch from it to carry out terrorist operations in Karbala and Babylon. The Peace Brigades intervened directly in Jurf al Sakhar. On October 15, 2014, Saraya Al-Salam forces were able to liberate the entire Lakes region and hand it over to the security forces.[26][27]
Amerli is a district of Tuz Khurmatu district with a Shiite Turkmen majority. On June 10, 2014, ISIS imposed a siege on the city after the fall of Mosul. During the siege period, they cut off water and prevented food and medicine from entering the city for 80 days. The people of the city resisted the siege, prevented ISIS from invading their city, and were able to repel its repeated attacks. On August 23, 2014, Al-Sadr's office published a statement by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, in which he called on the Peace Brigades to coordinate with the security forces to end the siege on Amirli. Indeed, large forces arrived at the outskirts of the city and began preparing for a large operation to lift the siege. The Peace Brigades launched operations, "We are coming, Amirli." On August 31, joint forces from the Iraqi army, the Popular Mobilization Units, and the Peace Brigades succeeded in breaking the siege on the city of Amerli and entered the city from several axes, while the Peace Brigades announced after Three days enabled it to liberate the village of Albu Hassan on the outskirts of the city of Amirli[28][29]
After ISIS took control of the entire island of Samarra, which is located west of the city of Samarra, which is considered a holy city for Shiites and is a link between the governorates of Salah al-Din, Anbar, and Nineveh. It extends over vast areas that include different and varied terrain and has become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda militants and later ISIS militants.
On March 1, 2016, the Peace Brigades announced the launch of major joint operations collaborating with the Iraqi Army, the Federal Police, and fighters of the Peace Brigades and the Popular Mobilization Forces to liberate this island. The battle continued for three days, during which the joint forces were able to reach Lake Tharthar after the forces launched from the area, with a liberated area of approximately 42 kilometers.[30][31]
After defeat of ISIS, prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi issued a decision to organize the Popular Mobilization Forces with army and police formations and confine weapons to the state.[32] As the result Sadr has closed the militia's majority of operations in 2021, however it still operates as a "lesson in politics".[33]
In 2022, the Shia groups rebelled against each other after Sad declared he will resign from politics and as Iran is suspected to have influence over the Shia populace armed groups broke alliance in de facto in terms of power struggle.[13] There has been an argument that a new Shia internal conflict could start as a result of Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani's decisions on reforming the groups and Iran-centered power struggle in the region.[34] There also been a report of Saraya Al-Salam supporters in 2023 entering a minor skirmish with Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, another Shia militia in the region.[35] In similar manner, Sadr has reported to call for an action against United States in context of Conflict in Gaza, implying a support for Gaza.[36] As of 2023, it is also reported that Saraya al-Salam has been departed from Popular Moblisation Forces, therefore all activities beside the government sanctioned ones are independent actions, Sadr also have been orchestrated protests using his networks established with the militia to orchestrate protests in support of Hamas.[37]
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