Rebel cleric calls for Iraq-wide ceasefire
Rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today called on his followers across Iraq to end fighting against US and Iraqi forces, an al-Sadr aide said.
“He has called for a halting of all military operations in Iraq, and we are studying the idea of joining the political process,” said Naim Al-Kaabi, an al-Sadr aide in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia fought against US and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf for nearly three weeks before a peace deal ended the crisis there Friday.
That fighting had spread to other Shiite communities throughout Iraq, and violence continued in other areas despite the Najaf peace agreement.
The government of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has demanded al-Sadr disband the Mahdi Army and join politics, which the cleric had resisted.
The announcement came as al-Sadr aides were trying to negotiate a peace agreement to end fighting in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City.
Talks were also being held with the British command in the southern oil city of Basra.
