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Sadr urges militia to continue to stand down

BAGHDAD — Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday urged his Mahdi Army to continue respecting his order to suspend its activities and accused U.S. forces of sowing division among Iraqis.

Last August, al-Sadr ordered a six-month suspension of Mahdi Army activities to enable him to purge the force. U.S. officials say the order was responsible in part for the dramatic drop in attacks in the Baghdad area, although splinter groups have disregarded his instructions.

“I thank my followers in the Mahdi Army for their obedience to my order and I urge them to continue respecting the freeze,” al-Sadr said in a statement on his movement’s Web site.

The order was issued after two days of bloody clashes in the Shiite holy city of Karbala that claimed at least 52 lives. Iraqi security officials blamed Mahdi militiamen for attacking mosque guards, some of whom are linked to the rival Badr Brigade militia.

The bloodshed triggered a backlash in the Shiite community about militias, once considered as protection against militant Sunnis but increasingly seen as thugs.

Al-Sadr’s freeze also appeared aimed at distancing himself from factions believed influenced by Iran, a charge the Iranians deny.

The cleric had threatened to reverse the order unless U.S. and Iraqi forces halt raids and arrests of his followers in the Shiite cities of Karbala and Diwaniyah.

In the statement, al-Sadr accused the U.S. of exerting pressure on Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government to continue the purge against the Sadrists.

Al-Sadr also called on the government and parliament to end the U.S. “occupation” through political means. The statement signaled that al-Sadr, who controls 30 of the 275 seats in parliament, will probably oppose any future U.S.-Iraq security agreement that provides for a continued U.S. military presence.

American and Iraqi officials plan to begin talks on a new agreement to replace the U.N. mandate, which the Iraqis don’t wanted extended beyond the middle of next year.

“We gained nothing from the long presence of the occupiers, except for division, killings, arrests and looting,” al-Sadr said.

The Mahdi Army launched two major uprisings against U.S. and coalition forces in 2004.

Since then, the Americans have differentiated between the mainstream Sadrist organization and what they term “rogue” elements that have staged numerous deadly attacks against U.S. forces in Baghdad and elsewhere.