Cleric Al-Sadr, Main Rival Try To Solidify Their Fragile Truce

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
January 4, 2008 By Associated Press
BAGHDAD – Representatives of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr met yesterday with officials from his chief rival's party in an effort to cement a tenuous peace agreement the two signed in October after violent clashes between their followers.
It was at least the second formal overture al-Sadr has made to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and his Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest Shiite political party, in less than a week.
Peace between the two – who each control powerful militias – is seen as crucial to preventing the outbreak of widespread fighting in oil-rich southern Iraq, where the British military recently handed over responsibility for security to Iraq's government in Basra, the last province it controlled.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced the deaths of three of its soldiers. Two were killed and a third wounded in a small-arms attack yesterday in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. A soldier was killed the previous day in south Baghdad when his dismounted patrol hit a roadside bomb.
A delegation from al-Sadr's office in Kufa, led by Sheik Muhanned al-Gharrawi, met with the Dhi Qar provincial governor, Aziz Kadhim Alwan, a member of al-Hakim's party, and other local officials in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. In the past, al-Sadr followers have had violent clashes with the governor's guards.
“The province should live in peace and security, without armed violence and disorder,” Alwan said after the meeting. Al-Gharrawi said the talks were meant to “end political and military” violence in the province and “to protect citizens' lives.”
In August, followers of al-Sadr and fighters loyal to al-Hakim clashed in the holy city of Karbala during a religious festival, killing 52 people. In October, the two leaders signed their truce, which has largely held.
On Saturday, al-Sadr called for a reconciliation with Iraqi security forces in Karbala, where authorities have cracked down on his followers since the August violence.
Shortly after the Karbala fighting, al-Sadr announced he was freezing the activities of his Mahdi army militia for six months – a move that Iraqi and U.S. officials say has been a major factor in the sharp decrease in violence.
Separately, al-Hakim called for unity among Shiites, arguing that closing ranks would benefit the whole of Iraq since they are the majority.
 
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