Agence France-Presse,
BAGHDAD (AFP): The armed men of anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia vanished from the streets of Baghdad on Thursday, saying they were obeying their leader's order for a six-month truce.
The black-clad Mahdi Army militiamen, normally dominant in their bastion of Sadr City, a teeming Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, were absent from the streets, an AFP photographer reported.
“In Baghdad we will now lie low and obey the order until there are new orders to restart our activities,” fighter Abu Moqtada said.
Another, who asked not to be named, said “we cannot break his word. His word is an order for us.”
On Wednesday Sadr ordered his militia to suspend for six months all activities, including attacks on US troops, after his fighters were suspected of involvement in gunbattles during a Shiite religious festival in the city of Karbala.
The fighting between police and gunmen left 52 people dead and 300 wounded as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were gathered to celebrate the birthday of the eighth century Imam Mohammed al-Mahdi.
Sadr denied any role in the violence but ordered a freeze on the thousands-strong militia, once described by the Pentagon as the biggest threat to stability in the war-ravaged country.
His aides said the move was aimed at rooting out “rogue elements”.
The government welcomed the freeze, saying it could rein in violence in Baghdad and other regions.
National security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told the BBC it was “very good news” that would “contribute to peace and stability.”
The US military also gave a cautious welcome, but said it would wait to see whether the order was followed by Sadr's fighters.
“Any time someone in Iraq, especially a leader, wants to use non-violent methods to solve problems and to participate in a meaningful way in the future of Iraq, we encourage this,” said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver.
“As always, the proof will be what we see on the street. But we encourage any leader to work to end criminality, to work to end violence and to seek non-violent methods to move Iraq forward,” he said in a statement.
The Mahdi Army, which gained a nationalist and anti-American image after the 2004 rebellions, has been accused by Sunni Arab leaders of slaughtering members of their community since the outbreak of communal strife in Iraq last year.
The US military has also accused Sadr's fighters of killing Sunnis and specifically charged some of the militia's “rogue” elements of killing American troops.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said a much-awaited progress report by top US officials in Baghdad would not contain any “magical solution or an instant answer” to end the problems besetting the war-ravaged country.
US General David Petraeus, the head of US-led forces in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, will deliver their testimony on the war's progress to Congress on September 10 and 12, the White House said Thursday.
The two officials will brief both chambers ahead of the report that will be delivered to the legislature by September 15, spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Their report is expected to guide Washington's future strategy amid rising pressure to withdraw troops.
Zebari said the report would focus on the “dangers” if foreign troops pull out and indicate how “things should go forward.”
He said there was progress on the security and economic fronts in Iraq but it was “not matched on the political front.”
Iraq's fractious political leaders agreed on Monday to end the sectarian divide by easing restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party in taking up government jobs and by holding provincial elections.
Washington has insisted that solving these and some other issues such as passing an oil law are essential to achieve national unity.
According to the Washington Post on Thursday, a draft US government report says Iraq has fallen short in all but three of 18 benchmarks set by the Congress.
“Key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend 10 billion in reconstruction funds” as promised, the newspaper said, quoting the report by the Government Accountability Office.
The US military's losses in Iraq since the March 2003 war rose to 3,729 after insurgents killed two American soldiers on Wednesday, the military said.
Meanwhile, Iraq announced a positive economic development on Thursday.
Finance Minister Bayan Jabr Solagh said Baghdad had signed 15-year contracts with telephone companies Al-Atheer Telecom, Asiacell and Korek to provide mobile telephone service in the northern, central and southern regions.
