Iraq: Why Are Militias Fighting in Diyala, the Crossing of Drugs and Weapons to and from Iran?

For a whole month, the Iraqi province of Diyala, bordering Iran, has been witnessing a series of assassinations and armed attacks that have affected civilians, killing about 30 people amid official secrecy about the parties behind all these crimes, despite government promises to arrest the perpetrators.

The governorate, representing 75% of the population, and linked to the largest border area with Iran in eastern Iraq, is controlled by several militias. The city’s governor, Muthanna al-Tamimi, has been in office since 2015.

Diyala citizens hold the armed militias responsible for the continued security tension in the province and call on the government to limit the security file to the army and police forces only.

Several militias are active in Diyala, led by Badr, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Liwa al-Baqi, and Saraya al-Salam, along with other armed groups.

In addition to this large number of militias alongside the regular forces, ISIS cells still record attacks in the governorate from time to time.

 

Security Breakdown

The last of these incidents in Diyala governorate was the explosion of a bomb targeting the members of the Bani Tamim clan in the Muqdadiya district on March 6, 2023, killing 8 people and wounding two others.

A former brigadier general in the Iraqi army was killed with silenced weapons, in addition to the assassination of the most famous cardiologist in the province, Dr. Ahmed Talal al-Madfai, followed by an armed attack on the village of al-Jayalah, during which 5 members of one family were killed, including two women.

“The army officer could not stop those who committed the crime of al-Jayalah, because he feared being arrested or expelled from his position, or even harming his family, and this is evidence that he knows them and that they are supported by political parties,” said Raad al-Dahlaki, a member of parliament in Diyala.

Al-Dahlaki explained during a television interview on March 7, 2023, that “uncontrolled weapons are what control security in Diyala, and even the Prime Minister knows them by names and mentioned to me personally full details during a meeting in Baghdad, but why were they not arrested, we put a thousand interrogative marks.”

The deputy wondered: “If the criminal is above the law, how is the situation with the official? This is why Diyala has become the main region in igniting or calming the security situation in Iraq. Crime is protected in the city.”

He pointed out that “Diyala is witnessing a political struggle to control its capabilities. Within one month, 30 people were killed, and therefore the security situation has collapsed. The ultimate and distant goal of these parties is to take over the administration of the province.”

Prime Minister Muhammed Shia’ al-Sudani stressed, during his meeting on March 7, the need to “enforce the law, and that there are no red lines in front of the state’s fulfillment of its responsibilities and duties.”

Al-Sudani reaffirmed “the follow-up to the treacherous crime that the province witnessed, in which a doctor was killed, and that whoever committed this will be punished by law soon,” stressing that “the blood of citizens is an issue that cannot be compromised or tolerated.”

 

Iran is Present

Regarding the parties behind confusing the security situation in Diyala, Wael Abbas, a researcher on Iraqi affairs, said: “The province is witnessing a struggle between the militias there because the ones in control there are Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Badr, the al-Baqi Brigade, and the Saraya al-Salam, but those who are killed are innocent, they had nothing to do with that.”

Abbas explained to Al-Estiklal that “these militias live on smuggling dollars, goods, weapons, and drugs to and from Iran because there are unofficial crossings in Diyala controlled by these parties, and confusing the security situation is the cover that secures their operations.”

He pointed out that “the security services are unable to arrest or hold these militias accountable because the latter is stronger than the state in Diyala, so I rule out the government’s move against them to end their control because they are linked to political parties that have representatives in parliament and representation in the executive authority.”

The Iraqi journalist residing in Sweden, Ali al-Jabiri, said on Twitter on March 7: “In short, everything that is happening in Diyala is motivated by Iran.”

He added: “The militias and the Islamic State are pawns moved by the Iranian security services to disrupt security in the province so that the borders remain open for smuggling drugs and weapons and for all the people of Diyala to take refuge under the authority of Iran.”

Al-Jabiri confirmed that Diyala is “the most Iraqi city under the control of the armies of Khamenei [Iran’s supreme leader], if only you knew.”

Since November 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve has imposed new restrictions, represented by applying the Swift system to monitor the outlets for selling dollars in the foreign currency auction at the Central Bank of Iraq to control its smuggling to neighboring countries, especially Iran, on which the United States imposes strict sanctions.

These U.S. measures in Iraq led to the deterioration of the local currency to 1,580 dinars against one dollar in the black market, although the official rate is 1,320 dinars against the dollar.

 

Shiite Absence

At the level of political forces and human rights organizations, many statements were issued calling for bridging the voice of sedition and cutting off the traces of evil in Diyala by pursuing outlaws, organized crime gangs, and uncontrolled weapons that invade the city.

The Sunni Sovereignty Alliance said in a statement on March 7 that the security forces must put things back in order, cut off evil and curb the voice of sedition, with an emphasis on the need to develop an effective security strategy to reduce criminal incidents in Diyala.

Sunni Sovereignty Alliance called for “the importance of closing ranks and unifying efforts in order to rein in the outlaw elements that assassinate and bomb there without mercy, threatening societal peace in Diyala province.”

The Azem Alliance issued a statement on March 7, calling on the prime minister to take “deterrent and strict measures to rein in armed groups, put an end to their criminal activity, and protect security and stability in the province in order to preserve social and national cohesion.”

In the same context, End Impunity in Iraq (EII), an independent non-profit organization that is currently working on raising awareness of Iraqi human rights violations through community coalitions, policy, and grassroots initiatives, said: “The increase in violence against unarmed civilians and the deterioration of the security situation in Diyala are the results of political divisions that would cause internal fragmentation that could lead to greater political and security violence.”

In a statement issued on March 7, 2023, the organization called on “the head of the United Nations Mission in Iraq to intervene and urge political actors to sit at the dialogue table to end the dispute.”

It also called on the security services to “take the initiative and take responsibility for preserving the stability of Diyala and not leaving innocent citizens in the hands of a group of corrupt politicians who are pushed by their own agendas to drag the province into the abyss.”

Until March 7, 2023, no statement was issued by the active Shiite political forces in the Iraqi scene, especially the Iranian-allied Shiite coordination framework that formed the current government, or the Sadrist movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr regarding the deteriorating security situation in Diyala.