ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday issued a directive to separate his Saraya al-Salam armed group from his National Shiite Movement “within a maximum period of one week,” after deciding to integrate the group into the Iraqi state. 

Sadr on Wednesday announced the “complete separation” of Saraya al-Salam from his party and its “complete integration” within the Iraqi state forces. 

On Thursday, Sadr issued a letter directing “to complete the procedures of the separation of Saraya al-Salam from the [National Shiite] Movement within a maximum period of one week,” according to the document seen by The New Region.

The complete handover, according to the document, is scheduled to be completed by Eid al-Ghadir, which will take place on June 4. 

Following Sadr’s Wednesday announcement, Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, commended the move. The premier called it a “responsible national position” in support of “state institutions and the consolidation of state sovereignty and the rule of law.” 

The premier further called on “all armed factions” in the country to “follow the same responsible national path” and operate as a part of the state, “based on the principle that the state is the sole authority entitled to monopolize arms and enforce the law.”

Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi similarly welcomed the initiative, dubbing it a step in support of “the prestige of the state, strengthening stability, and consolidating the rule of law.”

Illegal weapons in Iraq stand out as one of the most pressing challenges to security and stability. Unofficial data puts the number of arms within Iraqi society at around 15 million medium and light weapons, with armed groups and tribes possessing the bulk of them.

Earlier in May, Zaidi released his program for the next government. A copy of the program seen by The New Region shows that the “first pillar” of the state sovereignty section includes “restricting arms to the hands of the state” as Baghdad continues efforts to tighten gun ownership.

Sadr has previously founded multiple armed factions operating outside of state control himself, including the Jaish al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army), which was founded in 2003 to confront the US occupation of Iraq and disbanded in 2008. The group was partially revived under the name of Saraya al-Salam in 2014, which he continued to lead to this day.