Iraqi Gov’t, MPs Slam UAE FM’s Interfering Remarks, Emirati Envoy Summoned

The denunciations came after the Emirati foreign minister compared Hashd al-Shaabi to the ISIL.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi blasted the UAE foreign minister for interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs.

Abadi expressed astonishment over the analogy, and said that the popular forces are affiliated to his office and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

Abadi threw his support behind Hashd al-Shaabi units, and said that they have fought alongside the army against the ISIL militants.

“The Iraqi volunteer forces have liberated several ISIL-controlled areas and they are helping the government in its fight against terrorists,” the Iraqi prime minister said.

The Iraqi lawmakers also denounced Sheikh Abdullah’s comments, and said, the Emirati foreign minister is pursuing sectarianism by interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs.

The Iraqi government also summoned the UAE ambassador to Baghdad on Saturday over Sheikh Abdullah’s interfering remarks.

The UAE foreign minister in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday had called for the dismantlement of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi and Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.