BAGHDAD, 31 March 2008 — Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr agreed yesterday to pull his fighters off the streets of Iraq but called on the government to address key issues that led to the security crisis.
Sadr’s call — contained in a nine-point statement issued by his headquarters in Najaf — was quickly welcomed by the Iraqi government.
The message was broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. Followers handed out sweets in Baghdad’s main Mehdi Army militia stronghold of Sadr City. Sadr’s offices in several southern cities also said they would comply with the order.
Government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh called it “positive and responsible” in a telephone interview broadcast on Iraqi state TV. But he also warned Iraqi security forces would continue to target those who don’t follow the order. “We expect a wide response to this call,” he said. “After this announcement, anybody who targets the government and its institutions will be regarded ... as outlaws.”
Nevertheless, scattered firing could be heard in central Baghdad hours after Sadr’s statement was released. It was unclear who was firing. Also, an Iraqi security official said a suicide car bomber had killed five US-backed Sunni fighters north of Baghdad. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release the information, said the car bomber struck about 2:30 p.m. yesterday in Siniya.
Also, seven people were killed when two rocket or mortar rounds hit two houses in the downtown Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah. At least 21 others were injured, police said. Dozens of Shiite gunmen also stormed a state TV facility in central Basra earlier yesterday, forcing Iraqi troops guarding the building to flee and setting armored vehicles on fire. No casualties were reported but the attack illustrated the stark challenges facing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s government in the oil-rich area amid anger by Sadr’s followers over recent detentions and raids targeting Mehdi Army militia.
Sadr Asks Al-Maliki to Stop Raids
In the statement, Sadr called for an end to the bloodshed, but he also demanded that the Iraqi government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who have not been charged.
The strength of the resistance to the week-old offensive has taken the US-backed government by surprise, forcing it to come up with a new tactical plan targeting several Mehdi Army strongholds, a government official said.
The official, who was in Basra, said Al-Maliki had also brought in reinforcements and appealed to local tribal leaders to help secure the area. The prime minister, himself a Shiite, has called the fight “a decisive and final battle” and vowed to remain in Basra until government forces wrest control from militias, including the Mehdi Army that is loyal to Moqtada Sadr.
However, Al-Maliki also acknowledged on Saturday that he may have miscalculated by failing to foresee the strong backlash the offensive would provoke in Baghdad and other cities where Shiite militias wield power. Iraqi forces have struggled against the militants, who freely patrolled vast swaths of the city while police manned checkpoints elsewhere.
Shops were boarded up and there was scant movement of people or cars.
Underscoring the dangers, one of Al-Maliki’s top security officials was killed in a mortar attack against the palace that houses the military operations center, officials said.
