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al-Sadr urges militia 'ceasefire'
al-Sadr urges militia 'ceasefire'
Last Modified: 30 Mar 2008
By:
Alex Thomson
The cleric at the centre of the week-long battle between Iraqi government forces and Shia militias has urged his armed followers to leave the streets and stop fighting.
The day after rejecting a government offer to hand over weapons in return for money, Moqtada al-Sadr said anyone targeting the authorities would no longer be considered ''one of us''.
The Iraqi government said it would continue its operations against criminals, not militiamen.
The Iraqi army's clampdown on al Sadr's militia in Basra and the capital Baghdad has been supported by US and British troops.
The Iraqi authorities say more than 200 people have died since hostilities began on Tuesday.
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