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Hopes rise for end to violence after radical Shiite cleric accepts peace plan

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Aug. 18 that would disarm his militia and remove them from their hideout in a revered shrine, raising hopes of resolving a crisis that has angered many Shiites and threatened to undermine the interim government.

But al-Sadr has made contradictory statements in the past, and aides to the cleric said he still wanted to negotiate details of the deal to end fighting between his forces and U.S.-led troops

The agreement for al-Sadr to lay down his arms was announced at the National Conference in Baghdad, a gathering of more than 1,000 prominent Iraqis, which had sent a delegation to negotiate with the cleric.

Al-Sadr's loyalists and a combined U.S.-Iraqi force have been fighting for nearly two weeks in Najaf.

A wall surrounding the Imam Ali Shrine, where the militants have holed up, was reportedly chipped in the fighting, and any damage to the gold-domed mosque itself would further turn Shiite Muslims against U.S.-led troops.

The drawn-out fighting, which had spread to other Shiite areas, has already improved al-Sadr's reputation among poor, grassroots Shiites at the expense of more senior - and more moderate - clerics and hampered the government's efforts to stop a separate Sunni insurgency.

Shukan ST: Aug. 27, 2004

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National News Hopes rise for end to violence after radical Shiite cleric accepts peace plan NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Aug. 18 that would disarm his militia and remove them from their hideout in a revered shrine, raising hopes of resolving a crisis that has angered many Shiites and threatened to undermine the interim government. But al-Sadr has made contradictory statements in the past, and aides to the cleric said he still wanted to negotiate details of the deal to end fighting between his forces and U.S.-led troops The agreement for al-Sadr to lay down his arms was announced at the National Conference in Baghdad, a gathering of more than 1,000 prominent Iraqis, which had sent a delegation to negotiate with the cleric. Al-Sadr's loyalists and a combined U.S.-Iraqi force have been fighting for nearly two weeks in Najaf. A wall surrounding the Imam Ali Shrine, where the militants have holed up, was reportedly chipped in the fighting, and any damage to the gold-domed mosque itself would further turn Shiite Muslims against U.S.-led troops. The drawn-out fighting, which had spread to other Shiite areas, has already improved al-Sadr's reputation among poor, grassroots Shiites at the expense of more senior - and more moderate - clerics and hampered the government's efforts to stop a separate Sunni insurgency. Shukan ST: Aug. 27, 2004 (C) All rights reserved