Christiaan
06-05-04, 10:25
Shiite leaders gather in Baghdad to make demands of the firebrand cleric and his militia.
by Matthew Clark | csmonitor.com
Shiite leaders have had enough of Moqtada al-Sadr's hijacking of Najaf. More than one hundred prominent Iraqi Shiites agreed Tuesday in Baghdad that the fiery anti-coalition cleric must remove his militia from the holy shrines in the cities of Najaf and Kufa, reports The Los Angeles Times.
"It was the clearest such statement by a group of powerful Shiite Muslims and could open the way for a resolution of the standoff in Najaf, where US troops have surrounded the city in an effort to pressure Sadr to disband his Mahdi militia, which has set up illegal checkpoints, taken over police stations and seized civil authority."
Sadr must also relinquish control to the police and defense corps and cease stockpiling weapons in the cities, according to the report.
Joad Al Malki, a member of the political bureau of the Shiite Dawa Party reportedly told the Times that "five representatives traveled to Najaf [Wednesday]" to inform Sadr of the decision.
Sadr has been holed up in Najaf for several weeks, after the US-led coalition issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to a murder of a rival cleric last spring. But, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) waited until early last month to make that move after Sadr's militia began a violent revolt because the CPA had closed Sadr's anti-coalition al-Hawza newspaper.
The New York Times reports that the Shiite leaders also called for "a rapid return to the American-led negotiations on Iraq's political future," which have been stalled by violence throughout central Iraq and in the Sunni triangle city of Fallujah. The leaders also warned US troops again not to go after Sadr in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
The Times reports that the leaders "effectively did what the Americans have urged them to do since Mr. Sadr ... began his attacks in April: they tied Iraq's future, and that of Shiites in particular, to a renunciation of violence and a return to negotiations."
The Washington Post reports that a 21-member committee of Shiite tribal, religious, and political leaders "hopes to broker a deal" for Sadr to leave Najaf. Members of this committee said "any arrangement would likely require US officials to cancel the arrest warrant against Sadr and allow him to be taken into protective custody by a group of respected Shiite clerics in Najaf or to leave the country," according to the Post.
Meanwhile, Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that a group of young men in Najaf has gathered nightly since mid-April to attack members of Sadr's Mahdi army and force them out of the city. "If we capture them and they swear on the holy Koran they will leave Najaf and never come back, we let them go," a 20-year-old furniture maker named Haider told Knight Ridder. "If they resist, they are killed."
So as to prevent a larger conflict, "the grand ayatollahs who guide the Shiites are withholding support from Haidar and his band of vigilantes," says Knight Ridder. Many Shiites in Najaf say only a small number of Iraqi Shiites supports Sadr, according to the news service.
The Associated Press reports that the month-long standoff between Sadr's militia and coalition troops has cost the holy city of Najaf around $1 billion, according to Faisal Mathbob, deputy head of Najaf's Chamber of Commerce. AP also explains why the loss is particularly tough for the city.
It's a major blow to a city that was in the midst of a revival with the fall of Saddam Hussein, who had restricted the freedom of Shiite worship for decades. Pilgrims from Iran and other countries had again flooded in to visit a colorful shrine to Shiite Islam's most revered saint, bringing money and prosperity back to Najaf. ...
Up to 35,000 pilgrims from Iran alone visited Najaf each day. Now, only a few are seen.... With no agriculture or industry to speak of, Najaf depends on the visitors to fill hotels, restaurants, and shops. The crowds are large enough to sustain more than a 1,000 hotels and private guest houses in Najaf.
According to AP, some residents blame Sadr's militia for bringing the conflict with the coalition troops that has kept the pilgrims away from Najaf.
by Matthew Clark | csmonitor.com
Shiite leaders have had enough of Moqtada al-Sadr's hijacking of Najaf. More than one hundred prominent Iraqi Shiites agreed Tuesday in Baghdad that the fiery anti-coalition cleric must remove his militia from the holy shrines in the cities of Najaf and Kufa, reports The Los Angeles Times.
"It was the clearest such statement by a group of powerful Shiite Muslims and could open the way for a resolution of the standoff in Najaf, where US troops have surrounded the city in an effort to pressure Sadr to disband his Mahdi militia, which has set up illegal checkpoints, taken over police stations and seized civil authority."
Sadr must also relinquish control to the police and defense corps and cease stockpiling weapons in the cities, according to the report.
Joad Al Malki, a member of the political bureau of the Shiite Dawa Party reportedly told the Times that "five representatives traveled to Najaf [Wednesday]" to inform Sadr of the decision.
Sadr has been holed up in Najaf for several weeks, after the US-led coalition issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to a murder of a rival cleric last spring. But, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) waited until early last month to make that move after Sadr's militia began a violent revolt because the CPA had closed Sadr's anti-coalition al-Hawza newspaper.
The New York Times reports that the Shiite leaders also called for "a rapid return to the American-led negotiations on Iraq's political future," which have been stalled by violence throughout central Iraq and in the Sunni triangle city of Fallujah. The leaders also warned US troops again not to go after Sadr in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
The Times reports that the leaders "effectively did what the Americans have urged them to do since Mr. Sadr ... began his attacks in April: they tied Iraq's future, and that of Shiites in particular, to a renunciation of violence and a return to negotiations."
The Washington Post reports that a 21-member committee of Shiite tribal, religious, and political leaders "hopes to broker a deal" for Sadr to leave Najaf. Members of this committee said "any arrangement would likely require US officials to cancel the arrest warrant against Sadr and allow him to be taken into protective custody by a group of respected Shiite clerics in Najaf or to leave the country," according to the Post.
Meanwhile, Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that a group of young men in Najaf has gathered nightly since mid-April to attack members of Sadr's Mahdi army and force them out of the city. "If we capture them and they swear on the holy Koran they will leave Najaf and never come back, we let them go," a 20-year-old furniture maker named Haider told Knight Ridder. "If they resist, they are killed."
So as to prevent a larger conflict, "the grand ayatollahs who guide the Shiites are withholding support from Haidar and his band of vigilantes," says Knight Ridder. Many Shiites in Najaf say only a small number of Iraqi Shiites supports Sadr, according to the news service.
The Associated Press reports that the month-long standoff between Sadr's militia and coalition troops has cost the holy city of Najaf around $1 billion, according to Faisal Mathbob, deputy head of Najaf's Chamber of Commerce. AP also explains why the loss is particularly tough for the city.
It's a major blow to a city that was in the midst of a revival with the fall of Saddam Hussein, who had restricted the freedom of Shiite worship for decades. Pilgrims from Iran and other countries had again flooded in to visit a colorful shrine to Shiite Islam's most revered saint, bringing money and prosperity back to Najaf. ...
Up to 35,000 pilgrims from Iran alone visited Najaf each day. Now, only a few are seen.... With no agriculture or industry to speak of, Najaf depends on the visitors to fill hotels, restaurants, and shops. The crowds are large enough to sustain more than a 1,000 hotels and private guest houses in Najaf.
According to AP, some residents blame Sadr's militia for bringing the conflict with the coalition troops that has kept the pilgrims away from Najaf.