Ceasefire holds in Iraq holy city

[seemslikeadream]

A temporary truce appears to be holding in Iraq's holy city of Najaf after more than a week of fierce clashes between Shia militia and US-led forces.
Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr however has vowed that his men, who are believed to be based at the city's Imam Ali shrine, will stay until US troops leave.

"We will remain here... until victory or martyrdom," he told his fighters.

Earlier, a spokesman for Mr Sadr said he was prepared to pull out of Najaf, if the US-Iraqi forces also withdrew.

Mr Sadr's conditions also demand that:


Sacred Shia sites are administered by religious authorities

Captured fighters are released and Sadr supporters are granted an amnesty

Basic services be restored in Najaf.


The Imam Ali shrine is clearly visible in the centre of the image, surrounded by the narrow streets of the old city. To the north is the huge Najaf cemetery. A built up residential area lies to the south-east and farmland to the west.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3564122.stm

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