Anbar governor thanks PMUs, tells them to get out
The new governor of Anbar province faces critical challenges regarding providing services to the recently liberated area from the Islamic State and dealing with the Shiite Popular Mobilization Units coming from outside the province.
BAGHDAD — The governor of Anbar, Iraq’s largest and arguably most-insurgent-prone province, took office last fall just as the fight against the Islamic State (IS) was winding down. Mohamed al-Halbusi will now have to provide services to the heavily damaged province with what he considers woefully inadequate funding and steer it through the lead-up to parliamentary elections in May, with thousands of residents still displaced or missing.
In an interview with Al-Monitor at his home in Baghdad, he said that he will also have to deal with non-local Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), which were instrumental in the fight against IS but which remain despite local sentiment against their presence.
