Iraqi tripartite committee targets September 30 to finalize weapons file

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A tripartite committee formed under Iraq's Coordination Framework is continuing talks aimed at bringing weapons under state control, with a target of September 30 to finalize the file, a member of the Construction and Development Alliance political bureau said. Khaled Walid said the committee comprises Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, Nouri al-Maliki and Hadi al-Amiri, and is in intensive contact with relevant groups on collecting weapons held outside state structures. Walid said the committee supports the government's disarmament steps and is acting within the mandate of the State Administration Alliance and the Coordination Framework. According to Walid, the talks are progressing positively, and the end of the international coalition's military presence in Iraq on September 30 is expected to mark an important stage in organizing the weapons file. Maliki and Amiri prefer the phrase "regulation and control" of weapons rather than "neutralization." Separately, groups including the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Hezbollah Brigades and Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades have objected, tying their weapons to the withdrawal of international forces. The State Administration Alliance has announced that any non-state armed activity after September 30 will be addressed under Iraq's counterterrorism law.