Iraq Faces Disarmament Deadlock

Yesterday in Baghdad, indicators showed that the negotiations between the Shiite "Coordination Framework" Committee and factions refusing to hand over their weapons have reached a dead end, as the deadline for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq on September 30 approaches. The armed movement "Nujaba" and former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, leader of the "Badr" Organization, confirmed that there is no fixed deadline for surrendering or disarming weapons outside state control. They emphasized their insistence on preserving the "sanctity of the resistance's weapons" to confront regional threats.