A spokesman for Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr expressed surprise at threats of an imminent attack on his Army by Iraqi forces, saying he had agreed to demands made by peace mediators.
"We are surprised by the declaration and threat by the minister of defense...because we have given our full accord to the initiative presented by the delegation," Ahmed Shibani told the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.
Their proposal demanded the cleric's Army drop its arms, pullout from the Imam Ali Shrine where it has taken refuge and transform itself into a political party in exchange for amnesty.
Earlier, Iraqi interim Defense Minister Hazem al-Shaalan said Shiite fighters must surrender within hours, as he visited Najaf. "The coming hours will be decisive and we will teach them a lesson they will never forget," he told a news conference in Najaf, according to AFP.
"In the coming hours they must surrender," Shaalan said Wednesday, stressing that Iraqi troops were making the "final military preparations" should they not lay down their weapons.
In a related development, Iraq's National Conference refused Wednesday to dispatch a second mission to Najaf to negotiate an end to the standoff between American forces and loyalists of al-Sadr, a day after the latter rebuffed their demand for a meeting.
According to AP, conference envoys suggested they were fed up with al-Sadr. "If there were anyone sympathizing with him in the past, there will be none from now on because of this stand," delegate Abdul-Halim al-Ruhaimi said Wednesday.
Al-Shibany said the cleric did not show because of the "heavy shelling from the planes and tanks of the U.S. forces." "We are ready to meet the delegation anytime...we pledge to (arrange) a meeting between Moqtada Sadr and the delegation" on the condition of "putting an end to the bombardment of the old city of Najaf and the end of the siege", he said.
On Wednesday evening, Safiya al-Suhail, an independent Shiite delegate at the conference, said she had received a message from al-Sadr's Baghdad office saying he was agreeing to the conditions.
"Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed on the conditions set by the National Conference," she said reading the letter to the conference.
"We call on the Iraqi government and the National Conference to participate in implementing what is proposed by al-Sadr, otherwise everybody will bear the responsibility," the letter said.
Sporadic gunfire and blasts were heard in Najaf again Wednesday as clashes continued. Fighting in Najaf has killed six people and injured 23 others since Tuesday morning, Hussein Hadi of Najaf General Hospital, said Wednesday. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
