Sadr urges militiamen in Iraq to reject calls to disarm
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:17 AM PDT, March 29, 2008
BAGHDAD -- Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr sent a defiant signal to Iraq's government today, urging militiamen fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces to reject calls to disarm as American airstrikes continued.
In Sadr's Baghdad stronghold, Sadr City, a spokesman for the city health department said at least 57 people had been killed there since fighting broke out Tuesday. The battles, which pit Shiite militiamen against Iraqi and U.S. forces, erupted in the wake of a government offensive in the southern city of Basra.
Sadr's followers say the offensive was aimed at crippling his movement, and they say they are firing only in self-defense. The Iraqi and U.S. forces deny targeting Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and say they are going after "criminal gangs."
There was no way to independently confirm the death toll delivered by Qassim Muhammad. The country's Health Ministry is seen as pro-Sadr.
Police and health officials have reported scores more deaths from fighting in other Shiite areas of Baghdad and the rest of Iraq, mostly in Basra.
There were more U.S. airstrikes in Basra today, a U.S. military official said, without giving details. On Thursday night, a Navy jet unleashed 20-millimeter cannon fire on what U.S. and British authorities said was a mortar-launching position.
The United States said three militia members were killed.
But some Basra residents said eight civilians, including five people from one family, were among the dead. The U.S. military said it was aware of the report but could not confirm it. "I can say that coalition forces make every effort to engage only hostile threats," a military spokeswoman said in an e-mailed response to questions about the incident.
Iraq's government eased a 24-hour curfew in Basra to permit residents to stock up on food and other supplies, but few people ventured onto the streets. A Basra resident said they risked being caught in cross-fire or shot by Iraqi army snipers who could mistake them for militiamen, or by militiamen guarding the neighborhoods they control.
Sadr's message of defiance was delivered by an aide in the southern city of Najaf, Sheik Haider Jabiri. Jabiri said Sadr had directed followers to reject Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's call for fighters to hand in their weapons in exchange for financial compensation.
Maliki has not said what the compensation would be. On Friday, the government said militiamen had until April 8 to accept the offer.
Jabiri quoted Sadr as urging loyalists not to give arms to the current government. "They should hand over weapons to a government that will be able to take out the occupier," Sadr said, referring to U.S. forces.
The militant cleric is a fierce opponent of the American presence in Iraq and has denounced Maliki for not setting a deadline for the departure of U.S. troops.
There were reports of some weapons handovers today, but not the kind Maliki was seeking.
In Sadr City, about 40 members of the National Police went to the main Sadr office to offer their weapons. They said they did not want to battle fellow Shiites.
In exchange, they were given olive branches and Korans, according to witnesses.
tina.susman@latimes.com
Times staff writers Raheem Salman and Mohammed Rasheed in Baghdad, and special correspondents in Basra and Baghdad contributed to this report.
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