Iraqi Premier Warns Saudis Over PMU

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Saudi Arabia not to interfere in its internal affairs, after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused Popular Mobilization Units of committing massacres in Iraq. "We care more about the lives of our own people than other countries and Saudi claims about PMU are an intervention," Abadi told a press conference in Baghdad on Wednesday. "If you have disputes with Iran, then you should settle them with Iranians, not us," Abadi said. On Monday, Jubeir described the PMU as a "sectarian organization that commits massacres in Iraq, backed by Iranian officers led by Qasem Soleimani", the commander of Qods Force of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. "There should be no place for PMU if we want a united Iraq," Al-Masdar News quoted Jubeir as saying. PMU, an official security formation, is fighting beside the Iraqi Army in a months-long operation aimed at liberating Mosul, which has been under the control of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group since 2014.