‘Dismantle armed groups,’ US urges Iraq

The US has called for Iraq to dismantle non-government “armed groups” that have “undermined national sovereignty,” AFP reported.

According to AFP, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “those groups need to be replaced by local police as soon as possible.”

Pompeo was speaking at a press conference in Washington together with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, one day before Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi meets US President Donald Trump at the White House.

“We talked about how the US and Iraq can work together to make Iraq more safe and stable,” Pompeo added.

According to AFP, Pompeo said the US is committed to supporting the official Iraqi security forces “to curb the power of militias that have for far too long terrorized the Iraqi people, and undermined Iraq’s national sovereignty.”