Report: Followers of Iraq's Sadr lay low, follow orders

Left: The Sadr office in Sadr City is seen locked today.

Armed followers of Moqtada al-Sadr stayed off the streets on Thursday after the Iraqi Shi'ite cleric's surprise announcement that he was suspending all operations by his feared Mehdi Army militia.

In Baghdad, the black-clad militiamen who normally man checkpoints around the Sadr City stronghold of the anti-American cleric were nowhere to be seen.

More than a dozen militia members in several parts of Iraq told Reuters they would obey the order, including an instruction they refrain from all "armed action" for up to six months.

But many said they would fight U.S. troops if provoked.

"It is a big and tough decision ... We have never been in a situation like this before," said Abu Hazim, a Mehdi Army commander, as he drank tea at his home in Sadr City.

"It will be hard to stand still with our hands tied when we are attacked or arrested by Americans."

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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