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Hundreds flee fighting in Baghdad as showdown looms between government and Shiite militia
By Robert H. Reid
Associated Press
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Hundreds of people fled fighting in Baghdad 's Shiite militia stronghold Monday as U.S. and Iraqi forces increased pressure on anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr,
who faces an ultimatum to either disband his Mahdi Army or give up politics.
Al-Sadr's aides said he would only dismantle the powerful militia if ordered by top Shiite clerics -- who have remained silent throughout the
increasingly dangerous showdown.
Although al-Sadr holds considerable influence through the Mahdi fighters -- estimated at up to 60,000 -- political exile for his movement would shatter his dream of becoming the major
power broker among the country's Shiite majority.
Gunbattles raged around the sprawling Sadr City district that serves as the Baghdad nerve center of the Mahdi militia, which has been under siege since last week by about
1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard before dawn in Baghdad , apparently coming from the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City . A low-flying jet could also be heard circling the center of
the capital several hours before sunrise.
Police said at least 14 civilians were killed in clashes Monday in the Baghdad area, nine of them in Sadr City . Frightened families poured out of Sadr City -- some carrying
their belongings in sacks or piled in pushcarts.
Three American soldiers were killed Monday in separate attacks in the capital -- one by small arms fire and two others by a rocket-propelled grenade, the U.S. said without
specifying the neighborhood or whether Shiite extremists were responsible. At least 10 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since Sunday.
The rapid tumble back to street battles in Baghdad -- at an intensity not seen since
last year's flood of U.S. troops into the city -- is a worrisome backdrop to a planned appearance before Congress starting Tuesday by top commander Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker to report on progress in Iraq
and prospects for further troop reductions.
With the crisis showing no sign of abating, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki raised the stakes.
The Shiite prime minister told CNN on Sunday that al-Sadr and his followers
would not be allowed to participate in politics or run in provincial elections this fall "unless they end the Mahdi Army.''
Al-Maliki's statement followed a weekend declaration by top Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish
leaders to support legislation banning any party that maintained a militia.
Facing broad political opposition, key al-Sadr aides went on the defensive Monday, insisting that banning them from politics would be
unconstitutional. They proposed talks to resolve the standoff.
"We are calling for dialogue as a way to solve problems among Iraqi groups,'' al-Sadr aide Salah al-Obeidi told AP Television News in the holy city of
Najaf. "Al-Sadr's office affirms that the door is open to reach an understanding regarding these problems.''
Another al-Sadr aide, Hassan al-Zarqani, told The Associated Press by telephone from Iran that the
Sadrists would consult Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other top Shiite clerics in Iraq . If they "recommend he disband the Mahdi Army, he will obey,'' al-Zarqani said.
But it was unclear whether the statement
signaled any significant change in strategy by Sadrist movement. Al-Sadr has maintained for years that only the sect's top clergy could disband the Mahdi militia.
Equally unclear was whether al-Sistani and other top
clerics would take a public position on the showdown or leave it to the politicians to resolve. The aged, Iranian-born al-Sistani has remained silent since the latest crisis erupted.
Shiite clerics intervened to resolve
the two uprisings against the U.S.-led coalition that al-Sadr led in 2004. Those agreements allowed al-Sadr to build his followers into a formidable political movement.
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