Maliki threatens Sadr ban

2008-04-08 07:21

Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned in an interview broadcast on Monday that radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will be sidelined from politics unless he disbands his militia, as fresh fighting erupted in Baghdad.

The premier's comments to CNN follow two weeks of clashes between Sadr's Mahdi Army Shi'ite militia and the security forces that have killed hundreds and raised doubts about the abilities of army and police units.

"A decision was taken... that they no longer have a right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mahdi Army," Maliki told the television network.

But the Sadr movement quickly dismissed his warning.

'A constitutional right'

"To participate in an election is a right guaranteed by the constitution. We are the ones to decide whether to participate or not," Liwa Sumaysim, head of the Sadr group's political bureau, told AFP in the holy city of Najaf.

"There is no constitutional provision that allows the government to take such a step."

Iraqi and US forces have been fighting Shi'ite militiamen, mostly from the Mahdi Army, since Maliki ordered a crackdown on "lawless gunmen" on March 25 in the southern city of Basra.

The fighting spread to other Shi'ite areas of Iraq, including Sadr City, the Mahdi Army's Baghdad bastion.

It is from there since the crackdown began that the US military says "criminals" have targeted the fortified Green Zone with rockets and mortar bombs, killing two soldiers and two US government staffers.

Iraqi medical and security officials said fighting raged again overnight in Sadr City, killing nine people and wounding 65.

Standstill

The clashes, in which 20 people died on Sunday, have brought the impoverished district of two million people to a standstill, with the main market burnt out, water in short supply and electricity non-existent, residents say.

The fighting comes two days before a massive anti-American protest in Sadr City called by the cleric for Wednesday.

Sadr's group expects at least a million protesters to attend the demonstration on the April 9 fifth anniversary of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The heavy clashes that rocked Iraq subsided on March 30 when Sadr called his men off the streets, but fighting has continued sporadically in Basra and Sadr City.

Pursuing militias

Maliki told CNN he was determined to pursue militias across the country.

"We will not stop until we have full control of these areas. The operation has started and will not stop until a decisive victory is achieved... a victory that will not allow these people to attack the Green Zone or other areas," he said.

He conceded that Iraqi forces were still far from winning control over the militias.

"Yes, confronting the militias does still need more effort. Our readiness is not at full level yet," Maliki said.

Iran, meanwhile, said on Monday that it had hosted talks with an Iraqi delegation to urge "self-restraint" and bring an end to the deadly clashes.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad Ali Hosseini was asked at his weekly news conference to confirm reports that Iran had hosted talks with Iraqi factions in the holy city of Qom in a bid to end the fighting.

The US military reported on Monday that two US soldiers were killed in Iraq attacks.

- AFP