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2 powerful Shiite leaders move to end rivalry in Iraq

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 Sadr's office in Najaf called the agreement a "fresh start."

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 three-point agreement appeared to be aimed at reining in rival militants loyal to Sadr and Hakim before the fighting erupts into a full-fledged conflict that could shatter the relative unity of the Shiite-led governing apparatus.

It also comes as mainstream politicians from Iraq's majority sect have been trying to bring Sadr back into the fold after his loyalists pulled out of the main Shiite bloc last month.

The Sadrists' pullout left the United Iraqi Alliance, which includes Hakim's party, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party and some independents, with only 85 seats - a dramatic drop for an alliance that once held 130 seats in the 275-member Parliament.

Sadrist lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaie said the agreement did not change the movement's political opposition to Maliki's beleaguered government but was aimed at "preventing clashes between the two groups and reducing the violence hitting the country."

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.

[Last modified October 7, 2007, 01:54:42]