Iraqi PM calls for talks with rebel leader Sadr

IRAQ'S new prime minister has called for a "rational dialogue" with Shi'ite rebel leader Moqtada Sadr, and asked other Muslim nations to contribute to the multinational force in Iraq once his government takes power on June 30.

Iyad Allawi's comments came after the new government endorsed a coalition ban on militias. This supports the US position that the cleric's Mehdi Army militia is illegal.

"We are in a new Iraq where nobody can impose his point of view. I invite him (Sadr) to a rational dialogue with respect for the other's point of view so we don't revisit the sombre era of Saddam Hussein," Mr Allawi said.

"We repeat that Iraq is going through an interim period. We will have elections and there the people will have their say and elect the rulers they want, be they Sadr or someone else.

"I hope he will opt for democratic methods and mobilise the masses and the streets on this basis."

An uneasy truce between the Mehdi Army and US troops is currently holding in the holy city of Najaf, the scene of bitter clashes with coalition troops.

The ban on militias also excludes militiamen from political office for the three years if they ever quit their organisation. Coalition sources said this would apply to the firebrand cleric.

The exclusion from public office does not apply to the nine political parties, including the country's two main Kurdish parties, who reached an accord with the coalition and Mr Allawi on Monday that their fighters would be integrated into the new security force.

Mr Allawi, who has strong CIA links, also called for a multinational force, including Arab and Muslim troops, to patrol Iraq after the caretaker government assumes power on June 30.

"We cannot face all our problems alone, notably security. A multinational force operating under the aegis of the United Nations partly composed of Arab and Islamic troops will be beneficial for Iraq," he said.