Al-Kadhimi, Iraq’s intelligence chief since 2016, was chosen to form the government on Thursday.

Iraq hasn’t had a full government since Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in the wake of violent anti-government protests in December. Two previous picks for the post, Communications Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allaw and Adnan al-Zurfi, the head of the Nasr parliamentary coalition, withdrew their candidacies over pressure from Shi’ite parties, Sputnik news agency reported.

Al-Kadhimi, who appears to have won Shi’ite support, said that national sovereignty would be his “top priority” according to local media.

“Weapons should be in the hands of the government only, not individuals and groups, and we will take action in this regard,” he said.

“We will never allow any Iraqi to be insulted by domestic or international parties on charges of foreign dependence,” he added.

Discontent has seemingly grown in the country with the presence of coalition forces, resulting in January in a parliamentary resolution demanding foreign troop withdrawal and Shi’ite-led anti-US rallies numbering in the thousands.

While 17 years have passed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by US forces plunged Iraq into a period of political instability, corruption and weak democratic institutions, many Iraqis feel increasingly disenfranchised by the government and the foreign forces remain.

This year’s coronavirus pandemic has caused a collapse in oil prices and put more stress on the already-strained Iraqi economy.

The US initially refused to pull troops out of Iraq, despite the fight against IS being all but finished, but later started relocating soldiers from smaller installations to larger bases and redeploying some of them to elsewhere in the Middle East, boasting success in the fight against jihadists.

While American troops freed up at least four bases throughout March and transferred them to Iraqi security forces, the US has also deployed two Patriot missile batteries and some other anti-air short-range systems at two other bases.

Reporter’s code: 50101