Thursday, August 30, 2007
Leading Iraqi Accordance Front member welcomes al-Sadr's move to suspend Mahdi Army
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A leading figure from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) welcomed on Wednesday the order by the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to suspend the activities of the Mahdi army, describing the recent incidents in Karbala as "disastrous". "We welcome this decision which should have been taken by the government in a move to disband all kinds of militias," Omar Abdul Sattar told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The IAF leading figure also described the clashes that took place in Karbala, 108 km southwest of Baghdad, as "disastrous", noting that "we have warned from the very beginning against the disasters that might take place because of presence of these militias. The government has started more seriously considering the issue of militias following the recent meeting of the political blocs' leaders and Karbala incidents," the Accordance member said.
The IAF leading figure also described the clashes that took place in Karbala, 108 km southwest of Baghdad, as "disastrous", noting that "we have warned from the very beginning against the disasters that might take place because of presence of these militias. The government has started more seriously considering the issue of militias following the recent meeting of the political blocs' leaders and Karbala incidents," the Accordance member said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decided to freeze al-Mahdi army militia and to restructure its fighters, calling for "an impartial and just investigation" into Karbala incidents where 42 Iraqis were killed and 282 more wounded in clashes near two shrines sacred to Shiite Muslims.
Labels: Iraqi Accordance Front, Karbala, Mahdi Army, militias, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Omar Abdul Sattar
