[TWITTER]
Warnings of protest sabotage have been issued by Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq - one of the factions of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic.
“We will talk about information [we have obtained]. There is intelligence planning from many sides that want bad things to happen to this country, to exploit these events, to cause chaos in Baghdad province,” al-Khazali said in speech he published on Twitter.
Khazali claimed plotters are focusing on Baghdad because national destabilization can’t take place “as long as the capital is strong.”
“The events and plots of December 10 is aimed at transferring chaos to inside Baghdad, to mess with the security condition, to have as many as possible killed and injured, to have the institutions of the state burned, to have the central bank robbed.”
“Why December 10? Because it is the International Human Rights Day. These want to cause security chaos to send a message on the level of the international community, to say look at the killed, the destruction that is happening in the country, to put the responsibility on the security forces and Hashd al-Shaabi.”
The PMF, widely thought to be responsible for violence against protesters, has from day one been vocal against “plots” emanating from the protests.
Following the December 6 attack in Khilani, the group admitted its presence in the square via a statement. It also admitted that it had clashed with the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a backer of the protests.
The statement was deleted soon after publication. The PMF disowned the statement, claiming its social media and website had been hacked.
PMF elements have since been dismissed from the vicinity of Khilani announced General Abdulkareem Khalaf, spokesperson for commander in chief of Iraqi armed forces.
“The commander-in-chief of the armed forces [Adil Abdul-Mahdi] issued directions to Hashd al-Shaabi about not interfering in security related matters,” Khalaf said, though the militia group remained in their Baghdad offices.
Khazali’s warnings and claims were met with ridicule by protesters in Tahrir.
“We will step on the head of Qais al-Khazali and his group with our flip flops,” they were heard to chant.
In light of today’s expected escalation of unrest, the US Embassy in Baghdad on Monday announced a travel advisory to Americans in Iraq, excluding the Kurdistan Region.
“According to reports, demonstrations are expected to increase in size starting on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. US citizens may see a heavy security presence,” the advisory read.
The embassy called on Americans to avoid areas of demonstrations and comply with directives of authorities. 
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