Iraqi radical cleric Moqtada al- Sadr on Wednesday ordered his Mahdi Army militia to suspend militant activities for six months after the deadly clashes that killed 52 people in the holy city of Karbala during a Shiite religious festival.
"I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities without exception for six months, to restructure it in a way that will preserve its principles," Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the holy city of Najaf.
The statement also called for three-day period of mourning for the victims who fell in the clashes of Karbala, demanding the Iraqi government to launch an investigation about the clashes.
"I advise the government to launch an investigation which should be fair and neutral so that the tragedy would not occur again," said Hazim al-Araji, a Sadr top aide who read the statement.
Source:Xinhua
Sadr's move came after two days of clashes between the Iraqi security forces and militiamen in the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, that left some 52 people killed and more than 300 others injured.
Dozens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims converged in Karbala during the past two days to celebrate the 9th century birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last of 12 Imam most revered by Shiite Muslims.
Source: Xinhua
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