The bill, officially passed Saturday, makes the units an independent entity of the Iraqi Armed Forces that answers directly to the Prime Minister. Under the new rules, the units will be overseen by the Popular Mobilization Unit Committees, or PMUC.

Critics argue this effectively legitimizes a militia, which does not maintain the same standards of training or battlefield conduct as the national military. Of the 328-seat Parliament, 208 voted in favor of the law. A majority of the Sunni members boycotted and left the chamber.

“I believe this committee has been politically motivated and it will have similar impact as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and aims to weaken the Iraqi army,” Raad al Dahlaki, a Sunni member of Parliament, said Monday.

“We should definitely support and show appreciation to Popular Mobilization Units, but there is absolutely no need for an alternative force separate from the Iraqi army and police,” he said.