The leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced the complete disengagement of the “Peace Brigades” formations from the “National Shiite Movement,” confirming their complete joining of the state and the official bodies responsible for the military formations. Al-Sadr said, in a statement issued by him, that the decision comes “based on the public interest of the nation and to avoid the dangers facing the nation,” noting that the civilian entities associated with the Peace Brigades will turn into a “solid structure” without any headquarters, weapons, uniforms, or other organizational titles. Al-Sadr added that he thanked the members of the “Peace Brigades” for what he described as “the greater and smaller jihad,” calling at the same time on all PMF formations to “separate from partisan and sectarian orders,” especially after the factions handed over their weapons to the state, as he put it. Muqtada al-Sadr's announcement was welcomed by the Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ali al-Zaidi, who considered the step a "responsible national position" that supports state institutions and enhances its prestige and the rule of law. Al-Zaidi said in a statement that joining the “Peace Brigades” to the state and placing them under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces represents “an important step towards strengthening internal stability and consecrating the principle of confining weapons to the state.”