General_Military_Council_for_Iraqi_Revolutionaries
General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries
Iraqi Ba'athist militant group formed in 2014
The General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries (Arabic: المجلس العسكري العام لثوار العراق al-Majlis al-‘Askari al-‘Āmm li-Thuwwār al-‘Irāq) abbreviated as GMCIR or MCIR,[3] is a Ba'athist militant group active in Iraq headed by Saddam Hussein-era military and political leaders.[4] It has been described by Al Jazeera as "one of the main groups" in the Iraqi insurgency.[5]
This article needs to be updated. (June 2019) |
The Council began its insurgency against the Iraqi government in January 2014 as a unifying command for the former Sunni Arab Spring protesters that Nouri al-Maliki's government had cracked down upon since 2012.[6] The figures associated with the MCIR have stated that it has a central command and "the footprints of a professional army",[4] that it follows the Geneva Convention protocol rules,[7] as well as claiming to be non-sectarian and seeking a "democratic solution" to the Iraqi crisis.[5] The MCIR has announced its opposition to Iranian influence in Iraq and the role the IRGC have played with Iraqi security forces.[8]
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace characterized the MCIR as an Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region front group.[3]
By the end of 2014 the group was eclipsed by ISIL and had become defunct.[9]