Al-Sadr Backs Off Fighting In Iraq
"Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets" from AP reports that Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered his group off the streets and asked the government to stop raids on his operations, release his followers from prison in a nine point demand statement.
The Iraqi government welcomed the cease fire, but also warned it would target anyone breaking the terms of any agreement.
Al-Sadr's nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: "taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere."
He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop "haphazard raids" and release security detainees who haven't been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.
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