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Najaf peace deal accepted
26/08/2004 23:49 - (SA)
Baghdad - Iraq's interim government has accepted an initiative put foward by the country's top Shiite cleric to bring peace to the holy city of Najaf, said state minister Kassem Daoud late on Thursday.
"We have announced we have accepted the solution of peace that has been presented to us by his eminence, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani," Daoud told a news conference broadcast live on CNN televisions news.
"We have agreed to the desire to open the way for guests to enter the holy shrine and visit the prophet, then leave any time before 10:00 on Friday morning," he added.
A spokesman for the ayatollah said earlier in Najaf that rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose fighters are holed up in the shrine, had accepted his initiative for peace.
Police would assume responsibility
Sistani, treated to a euphoric welcome since returning from medical treatment in London on Wednesday, has signalled that he wants all armed groups to disarm and leave Najaf and Kufa, along with all foreign troops.
In his five-point plan, Iraqi police would assume responsibility for security and law and order in the two cities and the interim government would compensate those who had suffered in the weeks of heavy fighting.
Sistani has also called on the Iraqi government to allow "millions" of people who accompanied him on his journey to enter the Imam Ali shrine before leaving at the latest by 10:00 on Friday.
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