Al-Sadr 'rejects ultimatum' to surrender

The head of al-Sadr's office in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, Aus al-Khafaji, told Aljazeera Thursday afternoon that the Shia leader had refused to accept a list of tough conditions set out a few hours earlier by Minister of State Kasim Daud.

The rejections raises the prospect of a major assault by US and Iraqi forces to retake the area of Najaf where al-Sadr and his al-Mahdi Army militia are holed up.

At least five people have been killed in the city on Thursday.

Speaking in Najaf, Daud, announced "final-hour conditions" that he said the Shia leader had to meet and warned that "military action is imminent".

Tough conditions

Effectively calling for a complete surrender, Daud said al-Sadr would be required to announce in person at a press conference that he would disband the al-Mahdi Army.

Al-Sadr would also be required to hand over the militia's weapons held anywhere in Iraq and permanently renounce violence.

Al-Sadr would also have to submit lists of people tried by his religious courts and release all detainees, including Iraqi police, soldiers and national guardsmen, "otherwise the coming hours will be decisive".

Iraqi government officials have dismissed as "trickery" calls from al-Sadr for a negotiated settlement, saying thier patience has been exhausted.

Al-Sadr aides say the Shia leader has already accepted a peace deal brokered by a delegation sent by the Iraqi National Conference earlier in the week, saying that the interim government of Prime Minister Iyyad Allawi was blocking the accord.

Controversial offensive

"We have been preparing for a military offensive for five days to put an end to this crisis," Daud said.

But such an attack on Najaf's Old City – which houses the revered Imam Ali mosque and shrine – remains highly controversial. Recent fighting in the area has inflamed Muslim opinion across the region, especially among Shia believers who view the site as sacred.

The presence of US forces in such an offensive on a revered Muslim site is seen as especially inflammatory, prompting the Iraqi government to insist its own troops will lead any attack.

Meanwhile, gunfire and explosions have reverberated around Najaf's Old City as clashes between al-Mahdi Army fighters and US-led forces continue. US marines and tanks are reportedly positioned within 200 metres of the Imam Ali mosque.

A mortar attack on a police station elsewhere in the city on Thursday killed five people and wounded 21 others, police said.


Aljazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C12B2E-F362-48D1-A39A-98A34B03946E.htm