Shi’ite cleric in march to end Najaf bloodshed

IRAQ’S most powerful Shi’ite cleric arrived home from Britain yesterday and his aides called for a nationwide march to Najaf to end nearly three weeks of fierce fighting between US forces and Shi’ite militants in the holy city.

In honour of Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani’s arrival, militants loyal to radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said they would suspend fighting with coalition and Iraqi forces in every region al-Sistani passes through on his way to Najaf, said al-Sadr aide Aws al-Khafaji.

Heavy fighting persisted in Najaf’s Old City, the centre of much of the past three weeks of clashes.

US warplanes fired on the neighbourhood, helicopters flew overhead and heavy gunfire was heard in the streets.

Iraqi police sealed off the Old City, preventing cars from entering, and Najaf’s police chief, Major General Ghalib al-Jazaari, said al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia was on its last legs.

“The Mahdi Army is finished,” he said. “Its hours are numbered.”

Witnesses in the Old City said militants were still fighting in the streets, though the relentless American attacks in Najaf appeared to be weakening them.

Police yesterday arrested several al-Sadr aides with valuables from the sacred Imam Ali Shrine, which they control, in their possession, al-Jazaari said.

One of al-Sadr’s top lieutenants, Sheik Ali Smeisim, was among those arrested, police officials said.

Al-Sistani, aged 73, had been in London for medical treatment since August 6, one day after clashes erupted in Najaf. The cleric wields enormous influence among Shi’ite Iraqis and his return could play a crucial role in stabilising the crisis.

Interim prime minister Ayad Allawi’s office issued a statement welcoming al-Sistani back “on behalf of all Iraqis”.

He crossed into southern Iraq from Kuwait about midday in a caravan of sport utility vehicles accompanied by Iraqi police and national guardsmen.

The convoy stopped in the southern city of Basra. After meeting with al-Sistani, Basra governor Hassan al-Rashid told reporters that the cleric would lead a march to Najaf today.

“The masses will gather at the outskirts of Najaf and they will not enter the city until all armed men, except the Iraqi policemen, withdraw from the city.”

Al-Sistani is heading to Najaf “to stop the bloodshed,” said Al-Sayyid Murtadha Al-Kashmiri, an al-Sistani representative in London. “Those believers who wish to join him, let them join.”

In Shi’ite areas across Iraq, appeals issued from mosque loudspeakers urging Iraqis to heed al-Sistani’s call.

In the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr City, many left for Najaf in cars and buses in answer to a call from the mosques to “help stop the bloodshed.” In Kufa yesterday, unidentified gunmen killed two people and wounded five others who were taking part in what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration supporting radical al-Sadr.