Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday.
The statement was distributed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Sunday. "You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy," the statement said.
In the statement, al-Sadr also encouraged his followers to attack only American forces, not fellow Iraqis. "God has ordered you to be patient in front of your enemy, and unify your efforts against them — not against the sons of Iraq," the statement said.
Meanwhile, in his Easter blessing, Pope Benedict XVI lamented that "nothing positive comes from Iraq" -- home to one of the world's oldest Christian communities.
