Monday, October 16, 2006
Al-Sadr tells Mahdi Militia not to drive people from homes
Security
Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, one of the most influential figures in Iraq, called on his followers to stop driving people from their homes. "They should forbid the forced displacement of either our brother Shiites or Sunnis, but naturally this should be done through peaceful and political means in coordination with political bodies," he said in a statement entitled "directives of Moqtada al-Sadr to the Mahdi Army".
The latest directives to the militia also told them to "exert their efforts to return the Sunnis and Shiites who have been displaced to their homes". Finally Sadr called on his followers to help restore the services that most Iraqis are deprived from on a daily basis for the last three years. Maliki has refused to give the green light for any operation into Sadr City for fear of destroying the whole neighbourhood.
