Najaf, IRAQ (AFP)
Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday ordered a halt to armed operations by his 60,000-strong Mahdi Army militia, blamed by Washington for some of the worst sectarian killings of Sunni Arabs in the war-torn country.
"The Mahdi Army suspension will be valid indefinitely and anyone who does not follow this order will not be considered a member of this group," Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf.
The militia, created after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to fight invading American troops, became the most active and feared armed Shiite group in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, accused of operating death squads blamed for the killings of thousands.
The U.S. military cautiously welcomed Sadr's decision.
"We welcome this announcement that appears to be an effort to support the Iraqi people," military spokesman Major John Hall told AFP. "The proof is always in the actions and not just in words."
Sadr said the militia would now focus more on cultural programs.
"We have set a cultural programs for the Mahdi Army and we have named it Al-Mumahidun (Supporters of the Mahdi), and everybody should abide by it and whoever does not agree with it will be expelled from the army."
He did not immediately give reasons for his decision which came after he promised earlier this month to dismantle the militia if a planned security pact between Baghdad and Washington provides for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The two sides are still negotiating the pact that would govern U.S. troop levels and allow them to operate after a UN mandate expires at the end of the year.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said this week that they had agreed there would be no foreign forces in Iraq after 2011, setting a timeline for a US withdrawal.
The White House has repeatedly said no deal has been finalized. |
