IRAQ: An agreement aimed at ending fighting in the Baghdad bastion of Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr appeared to be on the verge of collapse yesterday after gunmen attacked US troops.
The deal between the ruling Shia alliance and Mr Sadr's opposition movement in parliament to end fighting in the Sadr City slum district was formally signed on Monday.
But, with the ink barely dry on the 16-point pact, clashes flared overnight and throughout yesterday, raising questions over how much control the anti-American cleric has over some of the militiamen who profess allegiance to him.
"It is clear that Sadr does not control all of the armed groups that make up the Mehdi army," Kadhum al-Muqdadi, a professor at Baghdad University, said. "This fighting could last a long time."
A Mehdi army statement read out in mosques in Sadr City late on Monday said that the deal had to be respected. Nevertheless, the US military said that violence broke out between its troops and militants in Sadr City overnight, where seven weeks of clashes have already led to the killing of hundreds of people.
A witness said there had also been intense gun battles between Iraqi security forces and militiamen yesterday in Shula, a Sadr stronghold in north-western Baghdad. TV footage showed five children running for cover as automatic gunfire echoed from between Sadr City's huddled brick houses.
Iraqi police said that at least 11 people had been killed and 20 wounded in clashes in Sadr City since Monday. They did not give precise details, but the US military said it had killed at least three militiamen planting roadside bombs. US troops were attacked on numerous occasions with small arms fire.
The deal to end the fighting was announced on Saturday and was welcomed by the Shia prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki. His crackdown in late March on militias sparked fierce resistance from Shia gunmen, especially the Mehdi army.
A Mehdi army commander named Abu Ammar said that his men would not recognise the truce unless US and Iraqi forces ended what he called attacks on militiamen.
Lt-Col Steven Stover, a spokesman for the US military in Baghdad, said that troops were only targeting militants seen launching attacks or planting bombs.
"We're not looking for a fight," Lt-Col Stover said. "They (the militants) are obviously not listening to any agreement."
Meanwhile, a senior political aide to Mr al-Sadr urged patience with the truce, saying that it might take time to filter down.
"Ceasefires cannot always be implemented immediately. Violations will happen in the first few days. Some armed groups may not be aware of it," Luwaa Sumaisem told reporters in the Shia holy city of Najaf.
The US military blames much of the violence on rogue elements of Mr Sadr's militia, which it says gets weapons, money and training from Iran, especially modern rockets which have been fired at the Green Zone compound in Baghdad. Tehran denies the accusations.
A US military official said that a surface-to-air missile was fired from eastern Baghdad at a US aircraft on Saturday evening. The missile exploded harmlessly, the official said.
He did not say what type of aircraft was attacked, but the New York Times said it was a US Apache attack helicopter.
Mr Maliki says that operations against militias are intended to impose law and order.
Sadrist officials have accused him of trying to sideline the cleric's popular mass movement before provincial elections in October.
The movement, which boycotted the last local elections in 2005, is expected to do well at the expense of other Shia parties supporting Mr al-Maliki, especially in the Shia south.
- (Reuters)