The statement on Saturday from Abdul-Qadir al-Obaidi, the Iraqi defence minister, was the government's most explicit declaration yet of its intent.

The Sunni awakening councils, or Concerned Local Citizens, are backed and funded by the US as a vital tool for reducing violence.

The militias are more than 70,000 strong and often made up of former anti-government fighters.

"We completely, absolutely reject the Awakening becoming a third military organisation," al-Obaidi said at a news conference.

He said the groups would also not be allowed to have any infrastructure, such as a headquarters building, that would give them long-term legitimacy.

Al-Obaidi said: "We absolutely reject that."

Integration

The Iraqi government has pledged to absorb about a quarter of the men into the security services and military, and provide vocational training so that the rest can find jobs.

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