From hiding, Sadr rallies against the US

"I want the occupation to leave right away. Now, no timetable. We want to be ruled by Iraqis only," said Farhan Turki, one of the protestors.

State-owned television carried segments of the demonstration live but characterized it as a celebration of the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Four years ago, US soldiers toppled a 20-foot-high statue of Hussein in Baghdad's Firdous Square. A crowd of Iraqis swarmed over the statue and danced on it.

Still, the government's response to Monday's demonstration was confused. Initially, it put out a statement on Sunday saying Monday was a regular business day. But that was followed by another statement imposing a ban on vehicles traveling in Baghdad.

Many Baghdadis, especially in Shiite strongholds, put Iraqi flags on their roof-tops or outside their shops. "We respect Sadr's call. Some of his supporters are more active. They will fight and go down to Najaf. Our support is more passive," said Ali Shaker, a pastry shop owner.

Iraqi flags fluttered from many of the capital's hospitals and government buildings. Policemen, who are renowned for their support for Sadr, draped flags on the hoods of their vehicles.

Col. Steven Boylan, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, praised the peaceful nature of the demonstrations: "Iraqis could not have done this four years ago." He told the Associated Press that "this is the right to assemble, the right to free speech.... This is progress."

The US military also issued a statement on Sunday calling the operation in Diwaniyah, dubbed Black Eagle, a "great success" so far. It said it detained 39 militiamen and killed an unspecified number. It also has uncovered "many large caches of weapons," including factories that make explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), devices that Washington accuses Tehran of supplying to Sadr's militia.

A doctor in Diwaniyah, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said by telephone that a 24-hour curfew has been imposed on the city since Friday and that the hospital has so far received 11 bodies, including seven civilians, and 35 injured people.

Diwaniyah has been the scene of off-and-on violence over the past year, and the doctor said the fighting has been mainly a power struggle between the Sadrists and members of the local government, many of whom are beholden to a rival Shiite faction headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

"It is a turf battle between the [Shiite] parties," said Brig. Gen. Abdul Khaleq al-Badri, who was fired 20 days ago from his job as head of the Diwaniyah police force.

Mr. Hakim is a leading force in the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which also includes ministers loyal to Sadr.

A senior aide to Sadr says the battle in Diwaniyah as well as the targeting and arrest of Sadrists in Baghdad by US forces is all an effort to draw the Mahdi militia into a fight.

"They are trying to plunge us into a vortex of violence and sectarian fighting, but we are working hard to rise above it," says Sheikh Hassan al-Zargani, who is based in Beirut.

Sheikh Zargani says the movement is committed to "peaceful resistance against the occupation for now" whether by making its voice heard within the government or through street demonstrations.

He said he was not aware of any direct support to the Mahdi militia from Iran, or training from Lebanon's Hizbollah group, as charged by some US military officers.

Page: 1 | 2