According to the decree, members of the Shi’ite militias, an
assortment of militia groups known collectively as the Popular
Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which are mostly backed and trained by Iran,
will be granted many of the same rights as members the military.
Paramilitary
members will be given equivalent salaries to those members of the
military under the Ministry of Defense’s control, the decree said. They
will also be subject to the laws of military service and will gain
access to military institutes and colleges.
The decree
had been expected for some time and comes two months ahead of a
high-stakes general election. The PMF commands popular support among
Iraq’s majority Shi’ite population and is expected to sway voters.
Tens
of thousands of Iraqis heeded a call to arms in 2014 after Islamic
State seized a third of the country’s territory, forming the PMF. The
paramilitaries supported Iraq’s military in ejecting Islamic State from
areas the militants overran in 2014, when Iraqi military and police
divisions deserted en masse.
Iraq declared victory over
the militants in December, but the militias, estimated to comprise more
than 60,000 fighters, are still deployed in many of the predominantly
Sunni areas which saw heavy fighting during the three-year war to oust
Islamic State.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-militias/iraqs-shiite-militias-formally-inducted-into-security-forces-idUSKCN1GK354
