Violent fighting in Najaf, al-Sader rejects conditions of the government

A spokesman for the Shiite clergy Muqtada al-Sader announced his rejection to demands set by the interim Iraqi government to end the fighting in Najaf. Ahmad al-Sheibani, said in statements to pressmen at Imam Ali shrine in Najaf that the fighters of al-Mahdi army reject the demands of the government.

Al-Sheibani attributed the rejection to that the Iraqi minister Qasem Dawoud was not a member in the Iraqi national congress conference which negotiated with al-Sader aides in Najaf over halting the fighting.

The director of al-Sader office in al-Nasereyah Sheikh Ous al-Khafaji said in a telephone call with al-Jazeera TV that they are in southern Iraq and refuse the conditions put by the Iraqi government conditions to end the crisis in Najaf and described that the government wants war. He explained that al-Sader refuses that after each agreement one official from the government announces new conditions.

Following this rejection, Najaf witnessed violent bombardment and fighting in the surrounding of Imam Ali shrine between the American forces backed by Iraqi elements and fighters of al-Mahdi army.

News reports said that the American forces arrived at a distance of 200 meters from Imam Ali shrine in al-Najaf, tightening the siege on the old city. The news said that American planes bombarded al-Doha hotel in Najaf.

Seven persons including five police members were killed and scores injured in an attack by mortars shelling targeted a center for the Iraqi police.

Earlier in the day, the Iraqi government gave the Shiite leader a grace period of several hours to announce acceptance of conditions set to end the fighting, otherwise he will be exposed to a decisive military act.

Iraq's minister of state Qasem Dawoud set a condition that al-Sader should hold a press conference in which he is to announce accepting the conditions of the interim government. The list of the demands included handing over the weapons of al-Mahdi army in all governorates in Iraq and al-Sader to submit a written pledge not to return back to fighting again.

The interim government also demanded that al-Mahdi army to release the detainees held by it of members of the army, the police and the national guards as well as the Iraqi citizens, and to disclose all trials he had made with a list in the names of the victims. Dawoud promised to have al-Sader enjoying guarantees as a common citizens after the end of the crisis.