Shiite Cleric Sadr Offers Conditions for Cease-Fire

BAGHDAD, March 30 -- Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr Sunday ordered his armed militia to get off the streets in Basra and to cooperate with the government to restore security. In exchange, he asked the government to release prisoners and declare an amnesty.

The Iraqi government quickly welcomed the comments as a move toward restoring calm.

A spokesman for the government, Ali al-Dabbagh, said on state-run Iraqi television that the government considered Sadr's statement a "positive step."

He repeated government assertions that the military operations in Basra were not aimed at Sadr's followers. "We expect all those who claim that they are followers of the Sadr movement to heed this call and those who do not shall be treated as outlaws and criminals."

In his statement, Sadr made the offer in exchange for the government stopping "random, illegal raids and arrests." He also called on the government to declare a general amnesty and to release prisoners taken during the fighting, especially his followers.

Sadr's statement stopped short of directing fighters to turn over weapons to Iraqi security forces, which has been a key demand of the government.

The move came after Sadr over the weekend told his supporters to ignore the government's orders to disarm.

American and British forces on Saturday boosted their support of an Iraqi military offensive in the southern city of Basra, where Sadr has accused Iraq's government of acting like "a dictatorship."

Earlier Sunday, the U.S. military said American ground troops had joined Iraqi troops in battles in Basra against the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to Sadr. A U.S. airstrike killed at least 16 suspected militiamen after Iraqi forces came under heavy fire, the military said. British forces fired artillery in support of Iraqi forces.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who launched the offensive Monday against armed groups, vowed "to stand up to these gangs in every inch of Iraq."

Maliki denied accusations that the Iraqi government was trying to undermine political rivals before provincial elections this year. "We came to Basra to fight the outlaws and the smugglers, not to confront a party or a political group, because we do not seek political confrontation," he said.

The U.S. military reported that fighting also continued in Sadr City, the sprawling Shiite district of the capital controlled by the Mahdi Army. In overnight battles in Sadr City, U.S. soldiers returning fire killed nine insurgents planting roadside bombs or firing at soldiers with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the military said.

Iraqi officials indefinitely extended a round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad that had been set to expire Sunday and restricted entry into some neighborhoods.

The Green Zone, the walled compound in the capital where the U.S. Embassy and key Iraqi government offices are housed, was shelled four times early Saturday. An embassy spokesman reported no deaths or injuries from the attacks. Rocket and mortar attacks on the compound killed two Americans in the past week.

Iraq's Interior Ministry said Iraqi soldiers backed by U.S. helicopters fired at gunmen in Sadr City, killing 12 and wounding 53.

The U.S. military said it had killed 48 fighters in separate engagements over the past two days in Baghdad.

A source at the Mahdi Army cemetery in Najaf said it had received the bodies of 20 Mahdi Army fighters killed by Americans in Baghdad.

Sadr, speaking in a television interview aired Saturday, said the Iraqi government "is far from the people and is dealing with them in a dictatorship way." He also said his militia's "strategic objective" was "the liberation of Iraq from the occupier."

In the interview, Sadr called for a demonstration April 9 against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He also rejected accusations that he was being supported by Iran, saying, "I am an independent in that I am not a political or military extension to Iran or any others."

In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, Katyusha rockets fired at the Basra police headquarters in the center of the city killed four people, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry.

Witnesses in the city said Mahdi gunmen continued to clash with the Iraqi military, attacking police stations and setting roadside bombs.

Abu Rana, a doctor, said he saw Mahdi Army fighters planting roadside bombs on the main road that passes through the district where he lives. "They are holding remote controls and waiting for any Iraqi army convoy to pass by so they would detonate these bombs," he said.

Usama Jassim, 28, an oil company employee, said Iraqi soldiers stormed houses in his neighborhood searching for weapons and fighters.

Iraqi army and police forces reported gaining control in the southern province of Dhi Qar after intense gun battles with the Mahdi Army, police commanders reported. But gunmen still control areas in the northern and northeastern parts of the province.

The U.S. military reported that two American soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. No further details were available.

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What kind of cheese d'ya like, eblab?

um no dumbass...the surge was working BECAUSE the Mahdi Army had instituted a cease fire. When they decided last week to struggle for the oil port city of Basra all hell broke loose and the Iraqi government showed itself to be unable to handle the situation.

and no this doesn't make me pro terrorist ya reactionary cunt

Ummm... eblab, who is it asking for a ceasefire?

And let's face facts, cheerleader: You'd admit to being the virgin mary if you thought it would score you points with the 20-something Obama Girls you try to hang with, just to "prove" to yourself that you're really NOT a cocksucker.

no Raul...they had a cease fire for the past 6 months. You may not know that because it was seldom mentioned in the news when reports were given about the surge working. The Green Zone has been under constant mortar and rocket attacks to the point that it is on bunker lock down.

stop your bullshit political pandering to a porn board posts.


okay going to a cookout now and not bringing the blackberry so i can't continue...but it has been fun. At least you no longer send kiss ass makeup IMs afterwards, you are showing real spinal growth

Ummm... eblab, once again you show your ignorance. They declared a face-saving cease fire six months ago because PETRAEUS GOT GAME.

Christ you are an ignorant tool.

And I don't doubt that you're not "bringing your blackberry" because I seriously doubt that you HAVE one. Nice try, poser.

I'm just going to go ahead and send you some stilton.

Actually this seems to be their modus operandi they fight like hell and stir up trouble then call a ceasefire to plot again. It allows no continuity over there. It is our fault and of course the iraqi government's fault because we settle for these cease fires. Saddam's government had a much better way of dealing with outfits like this and in retrospect the world didn't seem to care how he went about his business excepting some minor hand-wringing.