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Iraq calls for armed groups to take lead from Mehdi Army

Iraq said yesterday that it hoped other armed groups would follow Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's decision to freeze his militia as Sunni Arabs expressed optimism the ban would reduce attacks on them.

The suspension of Sadr's dreaded Mehdi Army was "an opportunity for other militias of different political affiliations" to lay down arms and help reduce bloodshed in the country, the prime minister's office said.

On Wednesday Sadr ordered the Mehdi Army to suspend its activities for six months after allegations that it was involved in deadly firefights the previous day in the shrine city of Karbala during a major Shiite festival.

At least 52 people were killed and 300 wounded in Tuesday's clashes between police and gunmen as hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims marked the anniversary of the birth of an 8th century imam.

Sadr denied any role in the violence but quickly ordered a freeze on his militia's activities.

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said Sadr's decision would help in stabilizing Iraq and be an example for other militant groups.

"The Sadr movement is an important political power in Iraq and will remain active in the political process," the premier's office said.

The statement was at pains to stress that Baghdad was not pointing the finger at Sadr's men for the Karbala carnage.

Over the past 18 months the Mehdi Army has gained notoriety, accused of killing thousands of Sunni Arabs since the brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian conflict broke out in February last year.

Iraq has around a dozen militias loyal to various political groups, and intense infighting between them has often caused outbreaks of violence on the streets.

Recent months have seen mounting reports of intra-Shiite violence between the Mehdi Army and the Badr Organization, the militant wing loyal to the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council party headed by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.

The two groups have clashed in central and southern provinces.

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Yesterday Sunnis also welcomed Sadr's move.

"If the call involves stopping displacement [of Sunnis] and burning mosques, it would be a good step," said Omar Abdul Sattar Mahmud, lawmaker from the Iraqi Islamic Party, a key Sunni parliamentary group.

Iraq's ongoing sectarian conflict has seen dozens of Sunni and Shiite mosques destroyed in tit-for-tat attacks.

Mahmud called on the Shiites to review their policies to "help strengthen official institutions as the Shiites now rule the country."

"If the call from Moqtada al-Sadr serves that objective it would be okay," he said.

The Sunni Muslim Scholars Association, a religious body accused of having links with anti-US Sunni insurgent groups, gave a mixed reaction to Sadr's ban.

"If the [Mehdi] Army drops resisting the occupiers, then it would be a wrong decision and Sayid Moqtada or anyone else has no right to give such an order," association spokesman Mohammed Bashar al-Faydhi said.

But if the "order is meant to stop the bloody activities of the Army against innocent people and displace and kill them, then it is a sound decision."
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