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Sadr looms over Najaf pilgrims
19/04/2004 16:44 - (SA)
Najaf - Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's militia was out in force here on Monday and pilgrims flocked to the holy city to mark Prophet Mohammed's death under the watchful eye of United States forces massed outside the gates.
Pickup trucks filled with black-clad teenagers brandishing assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade-launchers zipped through the streets, but US commanders said Sadr's Mehdi army had lost its popular support.
Sadr has been holed up here for the past two weeks and is wanted in connection with the murder of a rival pro-US cleric a year ago. Talks to end the stand-off appear to have made little headway.
Residents said they were afraid of an imminent US strike on the city, although US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Richard Myers said on Sunday he did not believe it was necessary for coalition forces to attack.
"Why do it if you don't have to?" Myers said on CNN television, asked if the troops outside the city would go in.
He said of Sadr: "Right now he has been so marginalised, there's not a city under control of his militia."
Pilgrims searched as they enter city
Sadr loyalists appear to maintain an uneasy pact with the Badr organisation, the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri) party, which is represented on Iraq's US-appointed interim Governing Council.
Badr militiamen set up checkpoints at the entrances to Najaf, searching thousands of pilgrims streaming into the city and preventing cars from entering.
A red car filled with unidentified armed men was seen firing at one of these checkpoints early Monday, wounding a young boy who was rushed to hospital.
A lone Iraqi police car with two officers stood in the background watching the whole scene.
Pilgrims rushed for cover, but they soon resumed their march towards the shrine of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed.
Sadr called on his followers on Monday to stop attacks on Spanish troops after Madrid announced it would withdraw its contingent from Iraq as soon as possible.
"We call (on them) to ensure the security of Spanish troops until their departure as long as these forces do not perpetrate aggressions against the Iraqi people," said Sadr spokesperson Qais al-Khazaali.
- AFP
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