Al-Sadr to announce future of cease-fire

[unhappycamper]

Al-Sadr to announce future of cease-fire
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes

Muqtada al-Sadr reportedly will have a statement read in mosques Friday declaring whether he will order his followers to continue a cease-fire that has helped tamp down violence in Iraq since August.

According to news reports quoting Iraqi sources, there is no indication which stance al-Sadr will take. In an Associated Press report Thursday, though, one of al-Sadr’s media officials was quoted as telling a Baghdad rally that, “We have to fight by peaceful ways. We have to think of another way to martyrdom, this time not by attack or assassination, but by a doctrinal stand.”

The expected announcement comes as the U.S. military confirmed two more combat deaths Thursday, bringing to five the number of soldiers killed in two days. Military officials said one Multi-National Division–Center soldier was killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday, while a U.S. soldier in northern Iraq was killed the same day in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

The incidents were the latest in a series of attacks in Baghdad and other parts of the country after a period of relative calm. The attacks this week included an attacker using a suicide vest at a market in Muqdadiyah, north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding 18 others.

“Spectacular attacks are the desperate attempt by terrorists to gain the ground they lost after Iron Harvest,” Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokeswoman for Multi-National Division–North, was quoted as saying in a reference to U.S. clearing operations in the area. “These attacks will continue to drive away the support al-Qaeda once enjoyed in eastern Diyala.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52682

[livvy]

1. Updates

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Sadr extends militia truce
Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:49am EST
BAGHDAD, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extended his Mehdi Army militia ceasefire by around six months on Friday, according to a statement read out on his behalf in a mosque in Baghdad.

The move is likely to be widely welcomed by U.S. and Iraqi officials, who say the initial six-month truce helped to sharply reduce violence in the country.


That's the whole statement...

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL20886020

Here's another longer story....

Last Updated: 22/02/2008 10:59
Sadr extends ceasefire by 6 months

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced today that he will order his Shia Mahdi Army to continue its ceasefire by another six months, giving Iraq a chance to continue its fragile recovery.

The peace deal had been due to expire at the weekend and some earlier reports indicated that it might not be renewed.

"Activities of the Mahdi Army will be suspended ... for another six month period," al-Sadr's aide Hazim al-Aaraji said.

Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr carry his picture during a rally in the Sadr city neighbourhood of Baghdad yesterday Al-Sadr's decision to halt the activities of his powerful militia last August was one of three critical steps that have been widely credited with bringing the Iraqi death toll down more than 60% in recent months.

more...

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0222/breaking29.htm

And another...

Iraqi Cleric Al-Sadr Extends Cease-Fire by Six Months (Update1)

By Camilla Hall

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army to renew for six months a cease-fire that has enabled coalition forces to concentrate on pushing al-Qaeda out of Iraq.

The militia's half-year cease-fire, due to expire at the end of this month, will be extended, state television cited al-Sadr aide Sheik Hazim al-Araji as saying today. The cessation of activities will last for around another six months, ending on the the 15th day of the eighth month of the Islamic calendar, Shaban, which falls in mid-August, al-Araji said.

Mahdi Army leader al-Sadr was under pressure to end the cease-fire from followers who alleged the U.S. was exploiting the relative calm to arrest militia members. The suspension of attacks was declared Aug. 29 after the group was accused of involvement in clashes at a shrine that left 52 people dead.

The extension ``is an important commitment that can broadly contribute to further improvements in security for all Iraqi citizens,'' the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. ``It will also foster a better opportunity for national reconciliation and allow the coalition and Iraqi security forces to focus more intensively on al-Qaeda terrorists.''

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aWlKAFLcyTh4&refer=africa