Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Mahdi Militia threatens to hold demonstrations after arrests
Security
The Shiite movement loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr threatened Tuesday to hold demonstrations in Baghdad, in a new test to the authority of Iraq's beleaguered government. Sadr's party reacted with fury to the alleged arrest of one of its top officials, whom they said was seized overnight by US forces, and vowed to stage protests in volatile west Baghdad, the scene of recent sectarian violence. "The government is determined to fight the armed groups by all political or military means," Maliki's cabinet office said Tuesday. "It will not hesitate to strike whoever tries to violate the security of the country and threaten the civil peace," the statement added.
"US forces raided the home of Sheikh Mazen Al Saedi, head of the Sadr movement offices in Karkh [west Baghdad] and arrested him," Hamdallah Al Rikabi, a spokesman for Sadr's movement, said. "Five other members of the office were arrested as well in a series of raids in Shuala," he said, referring to a Shiite neighborhood in northeast Baghdad. The coalition would not immediately comment on the claim, but in recent weeks joint US and Iraqi raiding teams have been targeting alleged death squad cells linked to Shiite militias in an effort to stem sectarian murders. "Sadr's office is preparing for an official massive demonstration tomorrow in Karkh in which schools and some government departments will be involved," Rikabi warned. In addition to fielding several thousand armed Mehdi Army militiamen, Sadr's movement also has 30 seats in parliament and controls three ministries.
