Radical Cleric Calls for End to Clashes Between Rival Shiite...

[GeorgeGist]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A radical Shiite cleric called on his followers Thursday to end clashes with Shiite rivals so that stalled talks on a new constitution can proceed. Fighting continued for a second day after the cleric's office in Najaf was burned and four of his supporters were killed.

Following the appeal by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leaders of the country's political factions met to try to reach an agreement on the draft constitution. Thursday was the final day of a 72-hour extension granted Monday night by parliament after Sunni Arabs blocked a vote on the charter, which was accepted by Shiite and Kurdish negotiators.

--more--http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBEG6PXSCE.html

I've long suspected that al-Sadr is simply a punk with a family name looking for a place in history.