BAGHDAD, 31 August 2004 — Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has called on his followers across Iraq to end fighting against US and Iraqi forces, and is planning to join the political process in the coming days. Sadr also called for US and Iraqi forces to withdraw from the center of Iraqi cities, Sadr aide Ali Sumeisim said.

The announcement by Sadr came as France made frantic efforts to save two of its citizens taken hostage in Iraq even as it rejected the kidnappers’ demand that Paris revoke a ban on Islamic head scarves in government schools.

Speaking on behalf of Sadr, Sumeisim said: “I call on the interim Iraqi government to have patience... and to pull back the American and Iraqi forces from the center of Iraqi cities. At the same time I call on the forces of the Mehdi Army (militia) to... stop firing until the announcement of the political program adopted by the Sadrist movement.”

When asked if the cease-fire would take effect immediately, he said: “I hope so.”

The announcement could provide a major boost to the government of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Sadr has fiercely opposed the continued US presence in Iraq and has denounced Allawi’s government as an American puppet. But if he joins politics, it would signal a tacit acceptance of the US-backed political process due to lead to elections in January.

Allawi has demanded Sadr disband his Mehdi Army, though it remained unclear whether he would comply. The militia has emerged intact from the weeks of fighting with US forces, and Sadr remains popular among some poor Shiites.

“This latest initiative shows that we want stability and security in this country by ending all confrontation in all parts of Iraq,” said Raed Al-Khadami, Sadr’s spokesman in Baghdad. “Al-Sadr’s office in Najaf will call within the next two days to join the political process.”

As a 48-hour ultimatum by the kidnappers of the two journalists to the French government expired, Al-Jazeera showed the captives urging Paris to heed their captors’ demand and rescind a ban on Muslim head scarves. The Arabic station showed the two speaking to the camera as they urged French people to hold protests and persuade the government to retract the ban. Al-Jazeera said the kidnappers had extended their ultimatum by 24 hours.

Earlier in Cairo, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier made an impassioned plea for the lives of the journalists.

Barnier, on an emergency mission to the Middle East, said a top diplomat had been dispatched from Paris to Baghdad to press for the release of the two men.

But his government has vowed not to bow to the demands of the kidnappers, a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq, which wants France to revoke a law banning the Islamic head scarf in state schools.

“These two journalists, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, are doing their job in Iraq to explain to the world, describe the reality of the situation and the difficult living conditions of the Iraqi people,” Barnier said at a press conference. “These two men of goodwill have always shown their understanding for these people and their fondness for the Arab and Muslim world. I call for their release in the name of principles of humanity and respect for the human being which are at the very heart of the message of Islam and the religious practices of Muslims,” Barnier said. His call was echoed by Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the 22-member Arab League, who appealed for the crisis to be resolved “as rapidly as possible.”

— Additional input from agencies