By Xinhua
Baghdad : Iraq’s Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr postponed on Tuesday the massive demonstration to protest the U.S. occupation of Iraq slated on Wednesday, Sadr statement said.
“I call on my dear Iraqi people to postpone their protest against the U.S. occupation to spare their blood,” Sadr said in a statement posted on the Internet.
On Thursday, Sadr called on Iraqis to carry national flags and demonstrate in millions to protest the U.S. occupation of Iraq on the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad on April 9.
However, Sadr threatened to lift the freeze of his Mahdi Army activities to achieve the goals of the Iraqi people, according to the statement.
“If required to lift the freeze (of Mahdi Army) in order to carry out our goals, objectives, doctrines and religious principles, we will do that later in a separate statement,” the statement said.
Last year in August, Sadr ordered his mahdi Army militia to stop all attacks after his militiamen were purportedly involved in a bloody confrontation with security troops in the holy city of Karbala.
The U.S. military in Iraq praised his move, attributing it to one of the three reasons for security improvement.
In 2004, Sadr led his Mahdi Army militia in two uprisings against U.S. forces, before taking part in the political process.
Late on March, Sadr militia fought fierce battles in Iraq’s southern city of Basra with U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces, as Iraqi security forces launched a massive offensive, dubbed “Operation Cavalry Assault” aimed at restoring order in the city where instability was spreading.