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Four-Point Deal Reached To Settle An-Najaf Standoff
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Rubaie said the U.S. forces "have promised to respect the agreement"
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BAGHDAD,
May 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraq's national
security adviser Muwaffaq Al-Rubaie announced Thursday, May 27, a
four-point deal to end the standoff in the holy city of An-Najaf after
weeks of fighting between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to Shiite
leader Moqtada Sadr.
Qais
Al-Khazali, an aide to Sadr, said the deal would remain on hold until
the United States agreed to the truce terms, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Rubaie
told a Baghdad news conference earlier that the U.S. occupation
authorities "have promised to respect the agreement."
"If
it had not been the case, we would not have made the agreement
public," he said.
"There
is no longer any fighting in An-Najaf, where residents have been
sleeping calmly as of 2:00 am (2200 GMT Wednesday) after weeks of
clashes. We thank God that all the parties are respecting the
deal."
Rubaie
said the deal, initiated by Sadr, will "put an end to the tragic
situation in An-Najaf and the violation of the sanctity of the sacred
shrine of Imam Ali" which was
damaged during the clashes.
It
stipulates that all Mahdi Army fighters will withdraw from An-Najaf,
except those who lived in the city.
The
plan states that the security responsibility in the city will be left
entirely for Iraqi police forces.
U.S.
forces should leave An-Najaf expect for small units guarding the
governor's office and the American army headquarters, according to the
blueprint.
It
also maintains that the future of Mahdi Army and charges against Sadr
in the murder of a Shiite scholar last year would be left for broad
discussions with Shiite scholars.
Truce
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The breakthrough proposal was initiated by Sadr
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Mohammed
Mussawi, secretary general of the Islamic Action Organization, which
has been trying to broker a ceasefire for weeks, said a truce was
clinched for negotiations to start between Sadr and the American
occupation forces.
Speaking
in An-Najaf, Mussawi said "American forces promised to reply on
Thursday to a plan put forward by negotiators to resolve the
crisis".
Washington
has dispatched a member of the U.S. Congress to take part in the
negotiations, he added.
"We
believe that Moqtada Sadr will also nominate a negotiator,"
Mussawi said, adding that his group had suggested that U.N. and
British representatives also take part in the talks.
Highly
Optimistic
A
U.S. military official affirmed the halt of the clashes, saying that
it was highly optimistic about reaching a peace deal with Sadr.
"It
is important that he (Sadr) respects what he said in the agreement and
according to our information, Sadr's militiamen have begun to carry
out the agreement," said a senior U.S. commander.
"I
am highly optimistic," the U.S. commander told reporters in
Baghdad when asked about the chances of brokering a deal.
The
BBC News Online said Sadr has made similar offers before but the US
has refused to have direct negotiations with him.
The
U.S. military had said that it wanted to kill or capture
Sadr , while its commanders also demanded the disbanding of
the Mehdi Army.
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