Yawir said the Peshmerga, the military force of the autonomous region Iraqi Kurdistan, will continue to operate independently because Article 121 of the Iraqi constitution allows autonomous regions to have their own security and police forces.
He added that Al-Abadi had in mind illegal militias which obey various political or religious groups.
Abdel Sitar al Jamili, Secretary-General of the Nasserist Socialist Vanguard Party, told Sputnik that the creation of a single Iraqi armed force has been brought up regularly since the US invasion of Iraq.
He added that his party welcomes the initiative, which he said would correct the mistakes made in recent years regarding the mismanagement of the army.
In November, the Iraqi parliament passed a law which would allow armed factions operating under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Units, a largely Shiite collection of militias, to become an official security body affiliated with the Iraqi armed forces.
However, Al Monitor reported that the law has not been enacted amid discontent from opponents such as the Sunni Union of Nationalist Forces (SUNF).
On Friday, it was reported that the Iraqi army has liberated the Amle district in southwestern Mosul from Daesh militants. The army’s 92nd Brigade has also repelled an attack on the Tal Afar military airport, Al-Masdar online outlet reported.
