NAJAF, Iraq – A rebel cleric’s militiamen kept their guns outside a holy site Friday after issuing a surprise offer to give up control of the Imam Ali Shrine to Shiite Muslim religious leaders. But negotiators wrangled into the night over getting the militants out of the compound.
The removal of weapons and the pledge to hand over keys to religious authorities was seen as a big step toward a resolution of the two-week face-off in Najaf that has killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds in fighting between Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia and a joint U.S.-Iraq force.
Offering a face-saving way out of the crisis, a peaceful pullout mediated by religious authorities would allow Iraq’s interim government to keep its pledge not to negotiate and let the militants say they had not capitulated to U.S.-led troops.
The development came just a day after al-Sadr’s militants rejected a government ultimatum to withdraw from the shrine or face an assault on the walled compound. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi backed off the threat after the new offer from al-Sadr, and his national security adviser reiterated that the government wanted al-Sadr to join the political process.
Al-Sadr has said previously he would not give in to the government demand to disband his militia and take up politics. It remained unclear how the government would react if that demand went unmet.
“We need to get rid of this militia, and we need to get them to disarm and leave the shrine,” Iraqi national security adviser Mouaffaq al-Rubaie told CNN. “There’s no way we can build democracy in this country with a militia all over the country.”
Sporadic explosions and gunfire were heard in the streets of Najaf, but the clashes were far fewer and less intense than in previous days. Fighting between Thursday and Friday mornings killed 77 people and wounded 70 others, officials said.
Armed militants could be seen around the shrine before sundown, circulating in the Old City district, but any who entered the Imam Ali compound left their guns with comrades outside, then reclaimed them when they exited. Inside the compound, unarmed fighters mingled with civilians.
A reporter saw no weapons in the shrine. It was not possible to check whether any weapons were hidden inside, though militia leaders denied any were. No police or Iraqi security forces were in the shrine.
After nightfall, al-Sadr’s aides were still negotiating details of the shrine’s hand-over to representatives of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who is in a London hospital for treatment of a heart problem.
It was not clear if the militia wanted its men to be able to stay in the compound, which they have used as a refugee. But al-Sistani’s representatives insisted the fighters had to leave before they would take responsibility for the shrine.
“If they want to vacate the holy shrine compound and close the doors, then the office of the religious authority in holy Najaf will take these keys,” an al-Sistani aide, Sheik Hamed Khafaf said, from London. “Until now, this hasn’t happened.”
Associated Press
U.S. soldiers take cover in a fortified position in Najaf, Iraq, on Friday during a battle with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militiamen.
Associated Press
Militants loyal to al-Sadr shoot toward American positions during the clashes Friday.
Associated Press
Muslims pray inside the Imam Ali Mosque as militants clash with U.S. and Iraqi forces outside. The militants have been holed up inside the mosque.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
