Sadr tells militia to maintain ceasefire
By Aseel Kami
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his feared Mehdi Army on Thursday to maintain its six-month ceasefire as members of the militia clashed with U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad.
Shi'ite Sadr's spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi said the ceasefire, which expires later this month and has been vital to cutting violence in Iraq, should continue to be observed until militia members are told it is over or has been renewed.
Some members of Sadr's bloc are pressuring him not to extend the Aug. 29 freeze on the Mehdi Army's activities.
"Any member of the Mehdi Army who conducts violent acts during the ceasefire, the Sadr office declares they will no longer be part of the Mehdi Army," Sadr said in a statement read to Reuters by Ubaidi.
He said Sadr had issued the statement in response to rumours the ceasefire was about to come to an end. He declined to say whether the ceasefire would be extended when its term lapses.
Attacks across Iraq have fallen by 60 percent since June 2007 after a series of security crackdowns. A return to hostilities could seriously jeopardise those gains.
Washington has been urging Iraq to take advantage of improved security and move ahead with a series of laws aimed at reconciling majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Arabs.
