By Xinhua
Baghdad : Iraq’s radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered Sunday his armed followers to withdraw from the street battle with Iraqi army in all Iraqi cities, including Baghdad and Basra.
“In order to stop Iraqi blood being shed and maintain unity of Iraq, we call for an end to all armed appearances in Basra and all other Iraqi cities,” Sadr said in a statement.
“We declare that anyone carrying weapon and target security forces, government institutions and political parties’ offices, will not be one of us,” Sadr said.
Sadr also urged people to cooperate with the security forces and the government to achieve security.
He asked the government to stop detaining his followers and implement an amnesty for detainees.
The six-day clash between the security troops and Sadr’s Mahdi Army has killed about 300 people.