The Hindu : International : Al-Sadr truce brings calm to Baghdad

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International

Al-Sadr truce brings calm to Baghdad

Provincial polls soon: Maliki

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi government called on armed groups to follow the lead of the biggest Shia militia and freeze their operations, even as the U.S. military on Friday reported the deaths of two more American service members in fighting against Sunni militants.

A statement by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office welcomed the decision by the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to freeze attacks by his Mahdi militia for up to six months as a step toward “affirming security and stability.”

The statement, issued late on Thursday, said Al-Sadr’s move offered “a good chance” to “suspend the work of other militias” to restore “the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq.”

Al-Sadr issued the order after his fighters were suspected of a role in this week’s gunfights during a religious festival in Karbala that killed up to 51 persons.

A shadowy faction of the Mahdi Army — the Free Men’s Brigade — rejected Al-Sadr’s order, noting that the young cleric had said in the past that only the country’s Shia religious leadership could halt the militia’s operations.

Little is known of the faction, which emerged this month in southern Iraq. Al-Sadr loyalists in Baghdad suspect its ranks include mostly Shias who were Saddam Hussein supporters.

Al-Sadr’s order appeared to have had a calming effect in Baghdad, where police found only five bodies of bullet-riddled victims of sectarian death squads.

In Sadr City, the Shia slum in northeast Baghdad, residents said there was no sign of Mahdi militiamen, who normally cruise the streets in cars and converge on Al-Sadr’s office in the evening.

The Mahdi Army has been accused by Sunni Arab politicians of massacring thousands of Sunni Arabs.

The U.S. military believes Iranian-backed splinter groups from the organisation have been responsible for most of the recent attacks in the Baghdad area that have caused American casualties.

At a news conference, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari insisted that Iraq has been making some headway in resolving political differences. — AP

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