Sadre may lift militia cease-fire in Iraq
The Shiite cleric's aides say the Mahdi Army's months-long truce has not resulted in reciprocal efforts from the U.S. military or Iraqi government.
BAGHDAD -- The office of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr signaled today that he was leaning toward lifting his militia's cease-fire when it expires at the end of the month, a move that could bring a renewal of sectarian and anti-U.S. violence.
Sadr called on his Mahdi Army to lay down its arms last August and said the freeze in military activities would last six months. U.S. military officials credit the move with helping bring about a major decrease in violence in Iraq.
But in comments today, Sadr representatives said the movement felt that its gesture had not been reciprocated, either by the U.S. military or by the Iraqi government.
Nassar Rubaie, the chief of the political bloc in the Iraqi parliament loyal to Sadr, said the cleric's opponents had "exploited" the cease-fire to persecute and detain his loyalists.
In the southern city of Najaf, Sadr spokesman Salah Ubaidi said "all possibilities exist" as to whether the truce will be extended. If no announcement of an extension comes, Ubaidi said the silence would mean the truce was over.
He accused the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, whom Sadr has denounced for not setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, of failing to care for displaced Shiites.
"This oppression continues and doesn't stop," he said. "The government is keeping silent. It has not taken any action."
Sadr announced the freeze Aug. 29 following clashes between rival Shiite militias that killed scores of Iraqis.
Sadrists have accused the government of failing to properly investigate the August clashes, which pitted supporters of Sadr against backers of a rival militia vying for power and influence in Iraq's Shiite-dominated south. The cleric's supporters also have accused U.S. troops of causing dozens of civilian deaths and injuries in military raids in Sadr strongholds such as Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood.
At a news conference today, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, said he was hopeful the truce would continue.
"We'll deal with the contingencies of the what-ifs when it occurs, but as of today the cease-fire remains in place and we hope and expect it will continue," Smith said.
The message from Sadr's aides follows a sudden uptick in rocket attacks blamed on Shiite militias, whose members include former Sadr followers disgruntled with their movement's cease-fire. Smith said an American civilian was among the people killed last night in a rocket attack on a U.S. base in southeastern Baghdad.
Also today, police said a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt killed seven Iraqi civilians and injured 17 in Muqdadiya, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.
The military said three U.S. soldiers had died Tuesday in northwestern Baghdad in a bomb blast. At least 3,966 U.S. forces have died in Baghdad since the start of the war in March 2003, according to the independent website icasualties.org.
tina.susman@ latimes.com
Special correspondent Saad Fakhrildeen in Nafaj and a special correspondent in Baqubah contributed to this report.
