Sadr urges militia, Iraqi forces to stop fighting each other in Diwaniya

Supporters of al-Sadr on their way to Najaf for what Iraqi police warn will be a massive protest rally on the 4th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. A March 29 statement calling for the protest said, in part, "Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land."

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on his Mehdi Army militia and Iraqi security forces on Sunday to stop fighting in the volatile city of Diwaniya and accused U.S. forces of fomenting civil strife...

"And here we can see in ... (Diwaniya), a civil strife the occupier planned, to drag the brothers into clashing, fighting and even killing," said the statement which was distributed in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf and stamped with Sadr's seal...

"Oh (Mehdi Army) and my brothers (Iraqi forces) enough of this clashing and killing. This is success for your enemy ... and (Iraqi army and police) don't be dragged behind the enemy," said the statement.

"God has ordered you to be patient in front of the enemy and to unify your efforts against it, not against the sons of Iraq."

Read the rest at Reuters India

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Note: This statement is currently, and erroneously, being headlined in the AP and many who use its service as 'Al-sadr Calls For Attacks On U.S. Troops'