Baghdad - Iraq's radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end military operations in Basra and all provinces Sunday and called on the Iraqi government to end raids against his followers, local media reported. In a statement, al-Sadr urged Iraqis to "live up to their responsibility and religious awareness by ending bloodshed and maintaining Iraq's safety, stability and independence."
Al-Sadr said the move to end bloodshed came from a sense of responsibility and a drive to preserve the country's unity and a step towards its independence from the "armies of darkness."
The cleric urged his followers from the Mahdi Army militia to cooperate with government bodies to achieve security and fight criminals. Al-Sadr had previously defied a government deadline for Shiite fighters to surrender weapons in return for cash by April 8.
The government was urged to stop its raids against members of the Mahdi Army and its political wing, the al-Sadr Bloc, to release detainees and apply the general amnesty law.
"We confirm that al-Sadr movement does not own any heavy weapons and we call for the return of people displaced by the security situation to their homes," the statement said.
"We call on the government to observe human rights in all security measures it takes and undertake rebuilding projects and provide services in all provinces," al-Sadr said.
Earlier, Baghdad's military command extended indefinitely a round- the-clock curfew as a crackdown on the Shiite Mahdi Army militia continued in the east of the capital.
At the same time members of the al-Sadr Bloc urged the United Nations to intervene to allow medical supplies into the scene of fighting.
The curfew was to expire Sunday morning but was extended as government troops backed by multinational forces continued their offensive against fighters loyal to al-Sadr, the state-owned al-Iraqyia television reported.
The US military said that it had killed 43 members of the Mahdi Army in fighting in Baghdad at the weekend. In addition, an Iraqi special forces unit killed 22 Sadrists in the southern port city of Basra on Saturday, the US Army said.
In another development, a member of the al-Sadr Bloc, Fawzi Tarzi, called for an emergency meeting of all political groups to avert a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Shiite-dominated district of Sadr City.
Tarzi told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency that the situation in Iraqi cities was deteriorating as the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki continued to reject any mediation to end the fighting peacefully.
Another member of the al-Sadr Bloc accused the US and Iraqi troops of preventing medical supplies from being delivered to Sadr City and Shula district in eastern Baghdad, VOI reported.
Salih al-Ikily urged the UN special envoy in Iraq to intervene to save the lives of civilians in Shiite-dominated areas in Baghdad.
