BAGHDAD — Two of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite leaders agreed on Saturday to end a bitter rivalry in a bid to end months of armed clashes and assassinations in the oil-rich south that have threatened to spread into a wider conflict.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, promised to stop the bloodshed and enhance cooperation between their two movements.
An official in al-Sadr’s office in the holy city of Najaf called the agreement a “fresh start.” He called it a chance “to give up differences and take the path of stability that will serve the interests of the Iraqi people.”
Internal rivalries have been rising in recent months, particularly in the southern Shiite heartland where factions have been vying for power as the British military has pulled back to a base at the Basra airport.
The agreement appeared to be aimed at reining in rival militants loyal to al-Sadr and al-Hakim before the fighting erupts into a full-fledged conflict that could shatter the relative unity of the Shiite-led governing apparatus.
A copy of the agreement, signed by both leaders, was shown on the Shiite Al-Forat television station.
The principles outlined included “the necessity of protecting and respecting Iraqi blood regardless of the situation or sect,” mobilizing all Islamic and cultural institutions on both sides “to maintain friendly feelings and to avoid hatred” and to establish provincial committees aimed at keeping order.
The Mahdi Army militia, which is nominally loyal to al-Sadr, and the armed wing of al-Hakim’s party known as the Badr Brigade face long-standing rivalries and frequently have clashed since Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime was ousted in 2003.
Elsewhere in the capital, a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier and wounded three others Saturday, the military said.
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