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Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraqi Interior Ministry Deny Fighters' Crossing into Syria
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Iraqi authorities' denial of fighters entering Syria reveals the sensitivity of Iraq's position towards the escalating Syrian crisis
Statements by military sources in the Syrian regime army regarding Iraqi factions entering Syria have captured the attention of Iraqi authorities, with the Interior Ministry quickly denying the matter.
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Chairman Faleh al-Fayyad categorically denied through a statement today, Monday, the PMF's entry into Syria, stating that the PMF does not operate outside Iraq. He explained that instructions from the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, included intensifying presence and reinforcing units on the fronts.
He added that events in Syria directly affect Iraqi national security. Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Miqdad Miri, during a press conference, considered news about armed factions crossing Iraqi borders and entering Syria as mere "rhetorical talk."
He emphasized that this talk "is being circulated on Facebook," stressing that "there is no recorded movement at the borders." He indicated that border breaches are absolutely impossible due to fortifications and deployed military units.
He stressed that the borders with Syria are more fortified than other borders with neighboring countries, pointing to the deployment of two divisions from the Border Forces Command, plus support from the army and PMF.
This contradicts reports from two sources in the Syrian regime army about elements from Iranian-backed Iraqi factions entering Syria last night from Iraq, heading toward northern Syria to support regime forces against armed factions.
Reuters quoted a senior source in the Syrian regime army saying that dozens of PMF elements crossed the border from Iraq to Syria via a military road near the Al-Bukamal crossing.
He explained that the fighters belong to factions including Iraqi Hezbollah Battalions and the Fatemiyoun Brigade. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdulrahman told Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that about 200 PMF elements crossed from Iraq and headed toward the Syrian desert.
It's worth noting that Tehran has sent thousands of fighters to Syrian territory over the past years, contributing along with Russia's air forces in enabling Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad to recover most territories controlled by armed factions and ISIS.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry earlier renewed confirmation of its military advisers remaining in Syria at the regime's request, and Tehran has repeatedly expressed over the past two days its support for the Syrian regime army in repelling attacks by armed factions that seized Aleppo.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied armed factions have carried out an unexpected attack on Aleppo since last Wednesday, taking control of the entire city, the country's second-largest.
They seized Aleppo International Airport and tightened their grip on dozens of towns in rural Hama and Idlib. The Syrian regime army announced it has begun preparing a counter-attack to expel militants from areas they controlled.
Levant-Agencies
