Al-Sadr warned of military strike 'within hours'

Iraqi forces could begin an offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr within hours, despite the firebrand cleric’s acceptance of a cease-fire proposal, an Iraqi Cabinet minister said today.

Minister of State Qassim Dawoud issued a series of demands al-Sadr must meet to prevent an imminent attack on his forces, who are holed up in the revered Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf.

Al-Sadr must immediately disarm his Mahdi Army militia and hand over its weapons to the authorities, he said.

The cleric must also give the government a signed statement that he will not practise acts of violence in the future and will release all civilians and Iraqi security forces that his militants have kidnapped.

In addition, al-Sadr must hold a news conference to announce that he is disbanding the Mahdi Army.

“The military action has become imminent,” Dawoud told a news conference. “If these conditions are not met, then the military solution will prevail.”`

Explosions and gunfire could be heard today in the streets of Najaf, where al-Sadr's militants have been fighting a combined US-Iraqi force for two weeks.

Three US tanks and two Humvees were parked about 400 yards from the shrine, about as close as US forces have come to the holy site during the fighting.

Fighters from the Mahdi Army militia could be seen manning positions in narrow alleys of the Old City and outside the shrine compound. A clock on the compound’s outer wall, reportedly hit by shrapnel, was smouldering.

Fearful of the violence, few civilians ventured out and most stores, some damaged during the fighting, were closed.

Speaking earlier today, al-Sadr spokesman Qais al-Khazali, blamed the violence on US forces.

“Still they are continuing to shell the city,” al-Khazali said. “We will continue to fight if the issue isn’t resolved peacefully.”

Late last night, al-Sadr sent a letter to Iraq’s national conference gathering saying he would accept its peace plan to put down his arms, withdraw from the shrine and turn to politics in exchange for amnesty for his fighters.

However, he wanted an end to the fighting before he complied and he wanted to negotiate how the plan would be implemented, his aides said.

The government today demanded he comply without any conditions.