NAJAF, Iraq, 27 March 2008 — Supporters of powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose fighters have been locked in deadly battles with government security forces, have called for demonstrations against Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, an aide said yesterday.

Sadr supporters have called protests in Baghdad and the southern city of Amara today “to express no confidence in Al-Maliki’s government,” said the head of the Sadr movement’s political bureau, Liwa Sumaysim.

Earlier yesterday, he said Sadr had asked Al-Maliki to leave Basra — the scene of much of the fighting between Shiite militiamen and Iraqi security forces — and to send a parliamentary delegation to resolve the crisis in the city.

Sadr called for talks to end the fighting between government forces and his followers, the biggest military operation that Iraqi forces have undertaken independent of US or British combat units.

Al-Maliki had ordered Shiite militia to surrender as his forces staged a crackdown on Sadr followers that threatened to wreck a truce credited with curbing violence.

More than 70 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the fighting in Basra and the Shiite parts of Baghdad where Sadr’s followers hold sway. It spread to the towns of Hilla, Kut and Diwaniya in the south.

Police said at least 10 people, including a baby girl, were killed and 31 wounded in clashes in Kut.

Al-Maliki, who was in Basra to oversee the campaign, said fighters would be spared if they surrendered within 72 hours. The assault is a chance for Al-Maliki’s government to prove it can impose its will and allow American forces to withdraw. But it also runs a risk of unleashing more violence after a year that saw security in Iraq improve dramatically.

US Backs Al-Maliki

“These are Iraqi decisions, they are Iraqi government forces and these are Iraqi leaders implementing and directing these decisions,” said US military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner.

Such a big Iraqi operation would have been impossible a year ago, showing how far Iraqi forces have come, he said. US and British backing was limited to mentoring teams and air support.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: “This is Prime Minister Al-Maliki taking bold action in dealing with the situation in Basra. So we applaud it.”

Washington aims to bring 20,000 of its 160,000 troops home by July after a build-up of troops improved security last year. US Democratic candidates who aim to succeed President George W. Bush next January are calling for a faster withdrawal. But violence has increased in the past few months and Iraqi forces have yet to show they can tackle militants on their own.

Sadr, a young, anti-American cleric, helped install Al-Maliki in power after an election in 2005 but later broke with him. His followers, known as the Mehdi Army, have feuded with other Shiite groups seen as having power in the government.

Sadr declared a cease-fire last August, winning praise at the time from US commanders for helping to reduce violence, although they say “rogue” Mehdi Army units outside Sadr’s control have continued to fight with support from Iran.