Iraqi militia offers to quit holy city of Najaf

8.15am

NAJAF, Iraq - Senior aides to Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr agreed with other Shi'ite Muslim factions on Tuesday that Sadr could pull his Mehdi Army militia out of Najaf in return for a US withdrawal from the holy city.

"Agreement has been reached on all points of contention. This agreement represents all shades of the Shi'ite political spectrum," Qais al-Khazali, Sadr's chief aide in Najaf, told Reuters after a meeting with rival Shi'ite leaders.

"This is the beginning of a solution to the crisis that endangers everyone," said Abu Hassan Amari, head of the Badr Brigades militia which is loyal to the rival Shi'ite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).

There was no initial response from the US military which occupies a small base and other buildings in Najaf but has kept away from the holy shrines where Sadr and his fighters have taken refuge as a month-long insurgency has stalled.

However, earlier, the US commander in the region, Major General Martin Dempsey said that his forces were prepared to hand over security in Najaf to a locally raised security force that could include members of Sadr's Mehdi Army.

SCIRI's Amari said one of the elements of the agreement in principle was the creation of a broad Iraqi security force.

Rival Shi'ite leaders have appeared particularly anxious to end the standoff in Najaf as local irritation with its economic impact has grown and fears have mounted that fighting could break out among various armed Shi'ite groups across the south.

There was no word on whether the deal addressed the fate of Sadr himself, a young firebrand who has irritated the Shi'ite establishment. He is wanted by an Iraqi prosecutor over the murder of a fellow cleric in Najaf a year ago.

Last month, US officials vowed to kill or capture him. But they have recently backed away from that demand, preferring to stress they would support a solution worked out by Iraqis.

One model for resolving the conflict could be that of the Sunni Muslim town of Falluja, where US Marines agreed to pull back after a month-long siege and turned security in the town over to an Iraqi force drawn partly from among former guerrillas.

US demands in Falluja for heavy weapons and foreign fighters to be turned over have yet to be met. But so far it seems a price US commanders are prepared to pay for peace.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq