Iraq

Rebel cleric orders militia from 2 cities

NAJAF, Iraq - The radical Shiite cleric whose uprising left hundreds dead ordered members of his militia Wednesday to leave the holy cities of Nafaj and Kufa - a key part of an agreement to end fighting with American forces.

Muqtada al-Sadr, in a statement issued by his office, called on anti-American fighters who came from other parts of Iraq to return home "to carry on their duties as God wants."

Most of Sadr's fighters in Najaf and its twin city, Kufa, are believed to be from this area and so are not covered by the order. Sadr also has told followers not to display weapons in public, but unarmed militiamen continue to congregate around the major Islamic shrines, ostensibly to provide security.

Many of the fighters who rushed here from Baghdad, Nasiriyah and other cities left this month after a truce brokered by Shiite politicians and clerics to end nearly eight weeks of fighting around some of Shia Islam's holiest shrines.

However, the declaration is significant in that it signals Sadr's decision to cooperate with mainstream Shiite leaders who believe continued fighting will undermine the majority community's bid for power in elections scheduled by Jan. 31.

Sadr said in a sermon read by an aide last Friday that he would support the new Iraqi government if it worked to end the American presence here. Previously he dismissed the new government as puppets of the Americans.

Some Sadr aides have said they plan to organize a political party, but others have denied this. President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Muslim, encouraged Sadr to transform his al-Mahdi Army into a political movement and compete for power in the January elections.

Sheik Abbas al-Rubayei, a Sadr lieutenant, told Al-Arabiya television Wednesday that the cleric's movement would not transform into a political organization but would support those who "want to free Iraq from occupation and achieve independence for Iraq."

Sadr's forces are still skirmishing regularly with U.S. troops in Baghdad's Sadr City district, but they were routed by the 1st Armored Division in Karbala.

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