Iraqi factions to end Baghdad fighting

Iraqi Shi'ite factions yesterday reached a deal to end fighting between militia and security forces in the Baghdad bastion of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that has killed hundreds of people, officials said.

The violence has trapped the two million residents of Sadr City in a battle zone for around seven weeks and prompted aid workers to warn of a humanitarian crisis.

But it is unclear how much control the anti-American Sadr has over many of the militiamen who claim allegiance to him in Sadr City, stronghold of his Mehdi Army militia.

"Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has approved this agreement," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. "The Iraqi government calls on all parties to commit to this deal, to be calm and show self-restraint."

The US military declined to make any immediate comment on the deal, reached between the Sadr movement's bloc in parliament and the ruling Shi'ite alliance. Dabbagh said the agreement called for militiamen to hand in their medium and heavy weapons.

He did not elaborate but this would include rocket and mortar launchers, which have been used to fire hundreds of shells at the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound since Maliki ordered a crackdown on militias in late March.

Sadr spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi told Reuters he expected the pact to take effect either on Saturday night or Sunday with a total halt to all Iraqi military activity for four days.

But much will depend on the militiamen who have been roaming the teeming streets of Sadr City.

U.S. helicopters have been hovering over Sadr City 24 hours a day, hunting rocket and mortar crews. It was unclear if Maliki had ordered the US military to stop offensive operations.

"The prime minister will decide whether there is a need for US forces (in Sadr City)," Dabbagh said.

Bahaa al-Araji, a parliamentarian from Sadr's movement, said the faction wanted no US troops there. Most US ground troops have stayed in an area around the southern portion of the slum.

Maliki, himself a Shi'ite, has stressed his crackdown on militias is about restoring order. Dabbagh said the government was not targeting the Sadrist movement, but "outlaws".

Gunmen have been battling US and Iraqi forces nearly every night in Sadr City for seven weeks, making life a misery for the largely poor Shi'ite community there. Several thousand people have fled but most have been holed up in their homes.

Ubaidi said the agreement called for aid to be delivered to residents and roads opened. After the four-day ceasefire, Iraqi forces could enter Sadr City and detain anyone they wanted if they had an arrest warrant, he said.

Asked if Sadr's supporters would adhere to the agreement, Ubaidi said: "I expect they will. But look, the government has made promises before, but not fulfilled these promises. This may have an impact on the fighters."